Pirate: I was just slacking off, do you really think I'm bad?

Deep within Mary Geoise lies a mysterious dwelling called the Flower Chamber.

This is where the Void Throne is located, and it is also the residence of Im, whom the Five Elders regard as the true king.

At this moment, the five elders knelt in unison on the ground, praying for the arrival of Im, the supplicant.

Not long after, a phantom figure flickered and appeared silently in front of the Void Throne.

Judging from his figure alone, there was no discernible physical characteristic, and it was impossible to tell whether he was male or female. After glancing at the Five Elders a few times, Im sat down on the Void Throne as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"What is it?"

Im's simple words were enough to make the Five Elders kneeling below tremble.

The bald five elders mustered their courage and recounted the recent events to Im.

"Ha, is this how you guys ruled the World Government while I was away?"

Im's words terrified the Five Elders so much that they pressed their heads to the cold ground, too afraid to utter a sound.

After a long silence, Im finally spoke again, softly:

"Fleet Admiral Raleigh is not the prophesied guiding light, and Joy Boy's reincarnation wouldn't have this kind of personality."

"Don't worry about him. I'll soon have complete control of the power, and then the world will be cleansed again."

After hearing Im's words, the Five Elders calmed down.

Although the Navy is currently very powerful, they firmly believe that under Im's control, the Navy cannot cause any trouble.

Since the navy is not the guiding light, it means that the navy's current strength is only temporary.

"That so-called revolutionary army, though not the lamp itself, is an important candle on the lamp's path to growth. Find it, and extinguish it!"

After leaving behind a sentence, Im's body suddenly disappeared from the Void Throne.

Half an hour later, the Five Elders slowly raised their heads.

"Lord Im has already issued the order, so let's ignore the Navy for now. No force can succeed against the Heavenly King. What we need to deal with is the Revolutionary Army."

The Five Elders were filled with unwavering resolve.

Dealing with the Navy is not so easy for the World Government given its current strength.

If a real war breaks out, the Navy and the World Government will likely only suffer losses on both sides, and neither can guarantee a complete victory.

If the peach is picked up by the Revolutionary Army or that lamp during the battle with the Navy, Lord Im will surely bring divine punishment upon the Five Elders.

The Revolutionary Army, however, is different. After Dragon and other high-ranking members of the Revolutionary Army disappeared, the Revolutionary Army's influence across the world has been wiped out.

Although the kings of those member states and the wealth within their countries also disappeared, the Five Elders did not care about these minor details.

In any case, once Im succeeds, the plan is to purge the kings of those member states.

Because there can only be one king in this world.

"Mobilize all intelligence personnel and prepare the Knights of God to act as soon as the Revolutionary Army sends any information."

The Knights of God were immediately dispatched to relentlessly pursue and kill the Revolutionary Army.

At this moment, the Revolutionary Army, which is being watched by the World Government and the Navy, is almost at the end of the Calm Belt.

They are currently stationed on a deserted island, making final preparations.

On the island, Long sat alone on the mountaintop, gazing at the distant sea in deep thought.

Having finished dealing with everything, Sabo now came to the dragon's side.

"Chief, everything has been arranged."

Sabo spoke.

Upon hearing Sabo's voice, the dragon slowly raised its head to look at Sabo behind it.

Then he spoke:

"Sabo, come sit here with me."

Sabo sat down next to the dragon with an innocent look on his face.

"Chief, why can't we seize the opportunity, break out of the Calm Belt, attack Mary Geoise directly, and liberate the whole world?"

Upon hearing this, the dragon burst into laughter, his hearty laughter carrying far and wide.

The dragon, sitting on the ground, pointed to the revolutionary soldiers carrying supplies on the beach and said:

"This is the last stretch of the Calm Belt; it will only take two hours to cross it."

Then Long changed his tone:

"In the Calm Belt, we only face Sea Kings and various other creatures, but with the technology of the new ships, Sea Kings will not be an obstacle for us."

"But once we break out of the doldrums, things will be different."

"Countless people wish us dead: the World Government, the kings of the member states, and all sorts of nobles and government lackeys. We need to break through all their defenses to reach the summit of Mary Geoise."

"And the prerequisite for accomplishing all these seemingly impossible things is that our soldiers can hold their weapons firmly."

The Calm Belt was once a place that everyone feared. Apart from the Fish-Men and the Serpent-Men who lived in the Amazon Kingdom, most races could not navigate the Calm Belt.

Therefore, this is considered the safest place.

Only in such a place could a force like the revolutionary army rest for a few days.

"The soldiers have been resting for three days, and everyone is hoping to set off as soon as possible."

Sabo couldn't help but speak up.

Long couldn't help but frown.

Yes, it's been three days of rest and repair already.

The world has waited for them for far too long!

The dragon suddenly stood up, faced the sea, and spoke:

"Sabo, tell the soldiers to set off at noon!"

"The world needs a voice, a voice from the revolutionary army!"

Sabo said with great delight:

"Yes, Chief, I will inform everyone immediately."

After Sabo left, the dragon faced the sea and silently said:

"Rolley, I won't lose to you. I'll prove that my path is the right one!"

Mary Geoise, having left the Five Elders of the Flower Garden, immediately dispatched intelligence agents to search for traces of the Revolutionary Army around the world.

Meanwhile, the five curly-haired elders arranged for CP personnel to bring a map of the Grand Line to the mansion for viewing.

When the CP members brought the map with the marked power distribution to the Western-style building.

The Five Elders' understanding of the four forces finally became clear.

Originally, on this map, the four seas should have been occupied by the Revolutionary Army, the Navy occupied the Grand Line, the pirates occupied the New World, and the World Government had the influence of member states distributed everywhere.

But the current situation is different from what they previously knew.

The constituent republics were wiped out by large numbers of revolutionary troops, who in turn were suppressed by the navy.

With Charlotte Linlin and Kaido of the Beasts dying at the hands of the Navy, their territories were also taken over by the Navy.

As a result, the map is filled with symbols representing naval power.

I originally thought the navy was just a force that couldn't generate its own revenue.

However, the current distribution map clearly tells the Five Elders that the Navy is fully capable of being self-sufficient.

Now, most of the New World has been occupied by the Navy, and Shanks' territory is also surrounded by the Navy.

Even if Shanks gathered the remaining pirates, it was useless.

Because, among the top pirates, only Shanks remains.

"Red hair won't last much longer."

This was the first thought in the minds of the Five Elders.

It's like a chessboard that's constantly being played across the globe.

The Navy and the World Government are the players in this game.

The World Government certainly hoped to use pirates to cripple the Navy's supply lines, thereby causing this massive force to collapse without a fight.

So they cut off the navy's supplies and sent Shanks a map of the New World and a map of the navy's defenses.

But it's different now.

The Navy has achieved its objective, but the Five Elders' objective is no longer within reach.

The emergence of the Revolutionary Army prevented the World Government from dealing with the Navy, and the Revolutionary Army's declaration of war against the World Government ignited global public opinion, successfully causing the Five Elders to overlook the Navy's actions.

Shanks, the Red-Haired Man, is now like a fish on a chopping board, just waiting for the Navy to wield their blade and become a delicious meal.

"We're doomed."

This was the first thought in the minds of the Five Elders.

Their leniency towards the navy stemmed from two reasons: first, their confidence in their ability to completely control the navy, and second, the World Government's deep hatred for the Revolutionary Army.

It was precisely because of this that Raleigh, who raised the banner of attacking the Revolutionary Army, was able to successfully force Sengoku to abdicate.

However, all of this was clearly carried out under their control.

After all, without the approval of the Five Elders, Raleigh's position as Fleet Admiral would lack legitimacy.

But that's exactly what happened; the tigers they raised themselves began to kill their master.

When the Revolutionary Army left its base in the four seas, the Navy acted swiftly, taking over a large number of kingdoms that had been captured by the Revolutionary Army before the World Government could react.

The nobles of these kingdoms have been massacred by the revolutionary army, and what remains are only some relatively obedient peasants.

They don't care who their masters are, they just need their masters to be kind to them.

As long as I can have enough to eat, that's fine.

"These kingdoms across the four seas have probably become naval production bases."

The Five Elders of the Demon Blade pushed up their glasses and said.

All their plans have officially failed.

No one knows what kind of power the navy will unleash without the pressure of logistical support.

Pirates are definitely out of the question. Even if the Five Elders help Shanks, it's still a dead end.

The World Government will likely face attacks from both the Revolutionary Army and the Navy in the coming period.

The Five Elders were not worried about the Revolutionary Army.

Even with several thousand elite soldiers suddenly appearing in Marineford, they remained completely unafraid.

But the navy is different.

There are simply too many top-tier combatants in the navy.

Christine Raleigh, Sakazuki, Borsalino, Enel, Barrett, Rat, and so on—this is just a part of it.

Including the elite vice admirals currently being trained in the navy and the strong recruits from the global conscription, the navy has at least ten admirals and elite vice admirals.

Besides, the Five Elders were unaware of the thoughts of Sengoku, Garp, Zephyr, and others.

If we include them, the only entity that can openly rival the Navy is currently the World Government.

"We can't wait any longer."

"The navy needs to make a move."

"Contact the spies within the Navy, and at the same time, do your best to win over those powerful figures, including Sengoku, Garp, and the two newly recruited admirals. Let them name their terms; even the position of Navy Grand Admiral is acceptable."

The Five Elders were also heartbroken, as many of the Navy's spies had already been removed from the center of power.

Those who remain in the center of power are all top secret.

Even the Five Elders cannot access their information alone; all five must be present to review their files.

Originally, the Five Elders planned to wear down the Navy and then install their own people as admirals.

But now it seems there's simply not enough time.

It's not just the pirates who can't wait; the World Government can't wait either.

"Those people are all of very high rank. If we were to make a full-scale operation, we would need Lord Im's permission."

The five curly-haired elders sighed:

"There's no other way but to start here!"

"Otherwise, there simply isn't enough time!"

"If it weren't for that damn Raleigh, the world wouldn't be like this!"

The Five Elders even considered asking Im to take action and using the Uranus to bombard the new Marineford.

But the cost of doing so is too high.

It's so big that even world governments are unwilling to pay for it.

Ultimately, they preferred to kill only Raleigh and his cronies, and then reclaim the Navy's power.

At the edge of the doldrums, a large number of revolutionary warplanes have gathered.

Three months later, the revolutionary army is finally about to reappear before the world.

The dragon had already mentally rehearsed the scenario many times.

There are only two paths to take in attacking Marineford.

One route is to cross the calm zone between the East China Sea and the South China Sea, enter the paradise of the Grand Line, and then attack the Red Line from the Sabaody Archipelago.

The other route is to cross the doldrums between the Western and Northern Seas, enter the New World, then land at the port of Vecchio around New Marineford, and then attack Mary Geoise.

But that definitely won't work.

Even if the Revolutionary Army launched a surprise attack, it would be impossible for them to breach Mary Geoise from the perimeter of the Naval Headquarters.

Therefore, the revolutionary army took the route through the East China Sea and the South China Sea this time.

At this moment, on the main ship at the center, Long sat alone in his office.

With a great battle imminent, his thoughts weren't on what he should do.

Instead, he recalled his journey and the process of establishing the revolutionary army.

However, he lost too much during this period.

Of the comrades who originally founded the revolutionary army, less than half are still alive today.

Even his elite force, mainly composed of miners from the North Sea region, now numbers less than 10,000.

Most of the revolutionary soldiers died on the road to liberating the kingdom.

At this point, Dragon has made a very dangerous move.

If he succeeds, he will have achieved his goal of liberating the whole world.

If they fail, the revolutionary army will completely disappear from people's sight, leaving no legacy.

Because Sabo is here too.

Both generations of the revolutionary army's successors must participate in this great battle.

"The time was still too short."

Long sighed. Although the Revolutionary Army had developed very rapidly, it was ultimately far inferior to the Navy in terms of its foundation.

If the revolutionary army wanted to win, they had no choice but to risk their lives on the only way out.