One Piece Gunslinger

The others seemed less enthusiastic, mostly responding with "uh-huh," "ah," or "oh," without taking it to heart. Only a few people, including Cobra, spoke up for them.

Surprisingly, these few people were actually members of the Revolutionary Army, mingling in the World Conference to provide cover for the Revolutionary Army.

It's both tragic and ironic that those who spoke up for her and offered their support were actually the very culprits behind all of this.

This shows that although it is still huge, its fate is nearing its end under the relentless pressure from the revolutionary army.

Chapter 268 Finally Discovered

And so, this tedious meeting lasted for two hours. Still, no substantial progress was made; things remained the same.

In this utterly boring atmosphere of passing the buck, one of the kings finally couldn't stand it anymore and stood up, shouting, "Enough! Don't bother me with this kind of boring stuff; it's a waste of time."

After saying that, he walked out of the conference room in a few steps, leaving behind a group of other kings with ugly faces, especially the thirteen men, whose faces were as black as coal.

This is undoubtedly a mentally challenged king, and a mentally challenged king with a bad temper at that.

Unless he's a mentally challenged king, he wouldn't have stormed out in such a situation with a displeased expression. This clearly offended some people, and if those thirteen kings can weather this crisis, they'll undoubtedly target him at world conferences or elsewhere in the future.

However, these days, mentally challenged kings are nothing new. There are plenty of kings who only know how to enslave their people, or even who don't know how to enslave their people at all.

If Wapol hadn't been killed by Leon, this scene would have happened more than an hour ago. Wapol would have been in agony sitting there for even ten minutes; he would have flipped the table.

Following this mentally challenged king's lead, many other mentally challenged kings also left their seats, expressing their views through their actions.

Then it was like an avalanche; more and more people left, and to the uninitiated, it looked like the meeting had ended. Everyone had the same thought: "These people are all leaving, and so many people are leading the way; if I don't follow, wouldn't I be missing out?"

In the end, the huge council chamber had fewer than thirty people left, nearly half of whom were victims.

Seeing this scene, the thirteen men, led by Yhorm, felt their hearts sink. This was simply leaving them no way out. Some of the kings, their spirits broken, collapsed to the ground, their eyes vacant, not knowing what to do.

Cobra and the other kings belonging to the Revolutionary Army sighed inwardly: "With this kind of world conference and this kind of world government, it's good that we changed sides. Otherwise, we might have been in this kind of desperate situation someday."

And so, none of the remaining people spoke, and the meeting room was filled with an oppressive and desperate atmosphere.

Just then, an official from the World Government rushed in anxiously, breaking the tense atmosphere. "Hey, where are they? Why are you the only ones left? Where are the other kings?"

"They're gone, they're all gone." Yom's eyes lit up again when he saw the newcomer. Now that none of the countries were willing to lend a helping hand, he could only place his hopes on the World Government.

The remaining twelve kings, as if grasping at a last straw, asked, "Is there any result from the investigation? What are the specifics? And what kind of assistance can the World Government provide?"

The official also saw the thirteen people, and seeing that they were all focused on him, even though he didn't want to, he could only sigh and say, "Ignore the others, it's good that you're here. I have some sad news to tell you, and you must be mentally prepared."

Upon hearing this, everyone's hearts leaped into their throats. After all these events, they were mentally prepared to withstand any blows. Even if they were told that the entire country had been reduced to ruins and only a very small number of people had survived, they could accept it. As long as they received aid from the World Government, they could turn things around in ten or twenty years. Then they would teach those few idiots who nodded and walked out first a lesson.

Looking at the crowd's gazes, the official suddenly felt immense pressure and couldn't help but resent his superior for assigning him this task. However, with the die already cast, he could only shake his head and say:

"It's the rebels. The rebels have occupied thirteen countries along the way, including Dressrosa." The official seemed to be using all his strength to say this, and he even felt like he was about to collapse.

As soon as Hua Ying landed, two people couldn't take the blow and collapsed to the ground with a thud. They had fainted. The others weren't much better off, clutching their hair and muttering repeatedly, "It's over, it's over."

Only Yhorm retained a sliver of reason, and he shouted, "Isn't the World Government going to do anything about this? Are we just going to be finished after they announce the results?"

Faced with Yhorm's questioning, the official found it difficult to confront him directly, unconsciously taking two steps back before saying, "Well... due to the lack of Heavenly Gold this year, our funds are tight, making it impossible to launch a large-scale war this year. Moreover, the rebels have grown stronger and are now even more powerful than Whitebeard. If we were to launch a war, it would involve too many complications. Even if we were to wage a full-scale war against the rebels, it would require extensive research."

He didn't know where he got the courage to say those words. After saying them, he didn't dare face these people anymore and quickly left the conference room as fast as he could.

Now there was truly no hope left. One moment he was a triumphant king, the next he was a worthless ordinary person. Not only did he lose his status and power, but his property was also swallowed up by the revolutionary army.

These people now have very little property left, perhaps only the ship they came in on. They wonder if their guards will still follow them after learning they are no longer king. Perhaps many will choose to seize the ship.

"Sigh, I didn't expect them to be rebels." At this moment, Cobra displayed the basic qualities of an actor. He shook his head, lowered his head, and slowly walked out of the conference room, looking utterly heartbroken and helpless.

The others followed suit, some saying a few words, others saying nothing, and all left the meeting hall. Only these thirteen remained, utterly alone. They had lost their entire world.

Dejected and utterly disheartened, Yom soon remembered something: "That's right, ships! We still have ships! Thirteen ships!"

"Ha, thirteen ships, only thirteen ships left, and they're just ordinary sailing ships. In the past, I could have easily taken them out. Now..."

Yum snarled, "Do you really want to admit defeat like this? Absolutely not! As long as there's even the slightest chance, I will never give up easily!"

……

In fact, the World Government discovered the problem with these thirteen countries a day earlier than they did, which is why they were able to quickly investigate and find the results after receiving the joint letter from these thirteen countries.

The reason is that they also sent spies to Dressrosa, where Doflamingo was in power, and these CP spies were, in some ways, more professional than the Revolutionary Army's spies.

As is customary, the spies planted in Dressrosa operate periodically, reporting the situation there to the World Government every so often and keeping a close eye on whether the Donquixote Family is up to any serious trouble. They, like the Revolutionary Army, are also eager to uncover the secrets of the toys.

Yesterday was supposed to be the day to contact headquarters, but CP headquarters did not receive any information and was unable to contact them afterward.

If it were just one or two spies, these two situations could be explained, for example, some accident occurred, or they were accidentally exposed, leading to their elimination by the Don Quixote family.

It's impossible for all the planted spies to meet with some kind of accident during this period. Besides, the CP is an experienced and long-established intelligence organization, and they had considered the possibility of exposure. Therefore, these spies didn't know each other, so there was no possibility of one being exposed leading to the exposure of many others.

This matter attracted attention, and the CP acted quickly, immediately sending out investigators.

Then they discovered that Dressrosa had been occupied and blockaded by the Revolutionary Army. Fortunately, the investigators were only observing from a distance, and thankfully, most of the Revolutionary Army had already returned with Leon, leaving only a small portion behind. Otherwise, the news wouldn't have reached them; they would have been captured en route.

Even so, by the time the spy, having survived countless near-death experiences, finally uncovered the truth and relayed the message back, it was already the next day.

Before CP headquarters could even laugh at this shocking news, the World Government immediately received a joint letter from thirteen kings. Naturally, they connected the two events.

So they quickly opened a map and located the thirteen countries on it. These thirteen countries comprised a total of eighteen islands, all situated precisely between Dressrosa and the Revolutionary Army.

Now I finally understand what the Revolutionary Army did during this World Conference; they actually took advantage of the opportunity to eat their fill.

It's a natural line of reasoning: if Dressrosa was cut off from communications because it was occupied, then the thirteen countries in between were also cut off from communications. Need we even think about it? They couldn't have escaped.

Upon discovering all this, CP dared not delay and immediately reported it to high-ranking officials of the World Government.

After reading it, the high-ranking officials were also exclaiming "Holy crap!" They then reported it to the Five Elders and sent lower-ranking officials to inform the thirteen people of the news.

While Yhorm and the others were in despair, the Five Elders, who held high positions, were not in much better shape.

Before the World Conference began, the Five Elders were sitting in this room discussing the Revolutionary Army. Now that the conference is over, they're sitting here again, their expressions growing increasingly grave.

"It seems you were right before. The rebels deliberately made those high-profile moves to lure us into a trap. We lost this time, and we lost in our area of ​​expertise."

Chapter 269 Impact on the World

Following this operation, the World Government's membership decreased from 170 to 157. Conversely, the Revolutionary Army gained 13 new members.

With this back and forth, this increase and decrease, the gap was shortened by twenty-six, which can be called the greatest victory in the revolutionaries' war against the world government since the establishment of the revolution, and the third milestone on the revolutionary path.

When this news spread within the World Government, it plunged the entire government into a slump, even affecting the Five Elders, who had seen countless storms.

This forced them to escalate the threat level of the Revolutionary Army again and again; if they escalated it any further, it might reach the level of a comet impact or the end of the world.

At the same time, some laws were urgently drafted to target the revolutionary army.

People in the World Government were the first to discover the Revolutionary Army's activities. This means that these things will soon become known throughout the world.

Along with the World Government's announcement of the defeat of Doflamingo, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, and the need to recruit a new member, the fact that Dressrosa had fallen into the hands of the Revolutionary Army was also made public.

"Hehe, good lad, you actually dare to use me." The white-bearded man laughed heartily while holding the newspaper.

"Um, Dad, aren't you angry?" the pineapple-headed youth standing to the side asked nervously.

When Whitebeard saw the news, he realized that he had actually done a great favor in the Revolutionary Army's operation, and without his knowledge.

To put it bluntly, I was taken advantage of.

That's why Marco hesitated when handing the newspaper to Whitebeard; he was afraid Whitebeard might get angry and hurt himself. Whitebeard was currently wearing a respirator and IV lines.

"Why would I be angry? I only said one sentence. As for how much effect they can achieve with that sentence, that's up to their ability. Now I'd like to see who the chief of staff who devised this plan is. I heard from Long that he's a young man. I really want to adopt him as my godson."

Marco understood that Whitebeard's appreciation for talent had taken hold, and at this moment, his mindset could not be judged by common sense.

In fact, Whitebeard did have this thought. In his old age, his biggest worry was his adopted sons. Although they were quite strong, they were still somewhat weaker than him. Once he was gone, these sons would likely face attacks from various powerful forces.

Of course, improving the sons' abilities is the most direct way, but this is not something that can be done overnight. It would be even better if they could have a wise mentor to guide them.

This feeling of worry about one's child is probably something that most parents share.

Besides Whitebeard, other great pirates also began to take the Revolutionary Army seriously. Although it seemed that the Revolutionary Army's opponent was the World Government, they were not on the same side as these pirates.

The Revolutionary Army may be currently limited in its energy and can only focus all its efforts on fighting against the World Government. Moreover, having just taken a large bite out of a powerful enemy, it still needs time to digest the experience and has entered a period of relatively rapid development. Therefore, it may not be able to deal with any pirates.

However, if the Revolutionary Army does grow stronger one day and finishes consuming this prize, it will inevitably have to look for new prey. At that point, there won't be much difference between the World Government and the pirates.

Furthermore, if one day in the future the Revolutionary Army overthrows the World Government and takes its place, then these unstable elements at sea will naturally become targets for the Revolutionary Army to eliminate, just as the current World Government sees pirates as a thorn in its side.

The Revolutionary Army can defeat the World Government, making them stronger than the World Government itself. Therefore, they would naturally be more adept at dealing with pirates than the World Government.

Therefore, regardless of the circumstances, precautions must be taken against the Revolutionary Army. Pirates fight each other for treasure, territory, and other reasons, let alone the Revolutionary Army. They even defeated Doflamingo, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. Now, apart from the Four Emperors, which pirate can stand against them?

However, the concerns mainly concern the big pirates, the kind with families and businesses. Smaller pirates, who plunder small village chiefs and merchant ships, continue to do as they please. They can cause trouble in the World Government's territory, and they can do the same in the Revolutionary Army's territory.

The Revolutionary Army also had no good solutions. They were quite troubled by these small pirates who were like locusts and difficult to eradicate. They could only use the army to suppress them on one hand, and improve the overall living standards and social stability of the people on the other, so as to reduce the possibility of these people appearing.

On the other hand, as news about the revolutionary army spread around the world, all the countries bordering the revolutionary army felt a chill.

Those who had previously expressed their inability to help the thirteen countries at the world conference instantly realized that if they were attacked by the revolutionary army, others would also express their inability to help them.

For a time, many kings were filled with panic, fearing that one day such a thing would happen to them.

Fortunately, the World Government then issued a new law requiring all member states to work together in dealing with the Revolutionary Army and to provide rapid support should neighboring countries be attacked.

If anyone disobeys, allows a neighboring country to perish, or even takes advantage of the situation to stab someone in the back and claim a share of the spoils, then the World Government will punish them without the Revolutionary Army even needing to attack. In the most severe cases, they may be expelled from the World Government's member states and subjected to military strikes.

This is the first time a world government has introduced such a mandatory measure against a member state; even previous laws concerning the surrender of celestial gold were not this severe.

There's no other way; we have to be ruthless. Several of these rulers are mentally challenged, and if we don't take a tough stance, they won't understand the implications.

Even if they weren't mentally challenged, the member states weren't exactly on friendly terms, especially some neighboring countries, where there was considerable friction and even animosity. If the revolutionary army were to launch a full-scale attack, it's possible that these individuals might choose to take advantage of the situation for short-term personal gain.

The world government knows best what kind of people these are.

People around the world who had previously watched from the sidelines and sided with the leader were often surprised that things would develop to this extent.

Especially among those watching the spectacle, there were quite a few self-proclaimed wise analysts who offered insightful analyses of the back-and-forth battles between the Revolutionary Army and the World Government at the World Conference.

The revolutionary army came with great force in the early stages, and made full preparations. They even gained the upper hand for a time, and they caused trouble every day. Wheatfield made a big news story, as if they wanted to stand up and confront them head-on.

As it turned out, in the middle of the game, the World Government still demonstrated its strong foundation and showed great power through a single order, proving its unshakeable position.

After that, the Revolutionary Army's influence waned day by day. Even after the Revolutionary Army took some actions, it was to no avail. After all, the 170 member states had benefited from the World Government's substantial concession (if they weren't robbed, it's considered a gain; that's the logic of this world). Naturally, they wanted to reciprocate by supporting the World Government in public opinion.

For a time, the prevailing opinion was that the Revolutionary Army was nothing special, and the World Government was indeed the World Government, with the mainstream view that "your grandfather is still your grandfather." Under the influence of those with ulterior motives, the Revolutionary Army's influence among the general public plummeted, even falling below what it was before the World Conference.

As the saying goes, comparison is the thief of joy. Before, people didn't know the Revolutionary Army's true strength; they'd only ever heard they were incredibly powerful. But their "rudeness" during the World Conference left everyone deeply disappointed. Some had initially seen the Revolutionary Army as saviors, fantasizing about escaping their misery one day with their help. Well, well... Dreams can be anything. Time to wash up and go to sleep.

This even affected many people within the Revolutionary Army's territory, causing them to doubt whether the Revolutionary Army could truly stand against the World Government and to worry about what would happen if the World Government attacked.