Chapter 594: Subsequent Effects (Part 2)
The biggest impact of this war was the immense encouragement it gave to pirate forces!
It had to be said, this was a rather ridiculous situation. If things had followed the original history, the Whitebeard Pirates would have been defeated, Whitebeard Edward Newgate would have died, and his final shout of "The One Piece is real!" would have similarly spurred pirates to become more active and rampant. Moreover, with the fall of an Emperor, many places once protected by Whitebeard would be plagued by pirate raids, and countless ambitious pirates would seek to take his place, plunging the seas into chaos.
Now, however, the Whitebeard Pirates had won. The Marines' morale had taken a hit, which also led to pirates becoming more rampant.
From this perspective, the Marines' campaign against the Whitebeard Pirates was entirely counterproductive.
They wanted to suppress and strike at pirates, but in the end, everything backfired.
Sengoku's position as Fleet Admiral was indeed difficult. Suppressing pirates was the Marines' duty, yet he couldn't eradicate the root cause of piracy. Whether they won or lost, he never achieved the result he desired.
During the return journey, the entire Marine fleet was unusually silent. Even the rank-and-file soldiers were wondering why things had turned out this way.
There were many reasons, and many couldn't quite figure it out. But undeniably, an undercurrent of thought—"The Marines need reform"—was quietly flowing...
As flocks of News Coos carried the news reports across the world, a torrent of accusations about the Marines' incompetence surged forth. For ordinary people, the Marines had always been their protectors. But the Marines' defeat in the war against the Whitebeard Pirates caused people who had lost their sense of security to panic. They frantically blamed the Marines' incompetence, questioning where all the military funds paid annually by the member nations to the World Government had gone.
In truth, in this world of rampant piracy, only a few countries enjoyed peace and prosperity. Apart from those with abundant resources and favorable geographical locations, most other nations were very poor. Their citizens not only had to pay domestic taxes but also bore the World Government's taxes and the "Heavenly Tribute" paid to the Celestial Dragons! The burden of exorbitant taxes was severe. For the already struggling common people, if they encountered a foolish king or bullying tax collectors, their lives became even more miserable.
Perhaps before, people could tolerate these taxes, since the Marines did protect them from pirate raids. But when news of this defeat arrived, they could no longer hold back.
"We pay so much money every year—where does it all go!?"
Reproach and doubt. The enraged masses directed their spearhead not only at the Marines but also at the World Government.
Especially the Heavenly Tribute for the Celestial Dragons, which was inherently unreasonable. Now, the World Government was in a bind. More and more countries began to oppose paying the Heavenly Tribute, using the Marines' defeat as a powerful excuse.
In the original history, the Paramount War ended with the Marines' victory, temporarily masking this contradiction. But now, due to Ian's intervention, the situation had been reversed, and this contradiction erupted all at once.
On a white island in the New World, a place unreachable by Log Pose, only accessible via Vivre Card.
This was Baltigo, the headquarters of the Revolutionary Army!
At that moment, within the Revolutionary Army base, there was a scene of bustling activity. Revolutionary Army liaisons were using Den Den Mushi to compile news from all over the world.
Amidst the noise, the Revolutionary Army's leader, Dragon, held a newspaper in his hand, carefully reading the news.
After a long while, he put down the newspaper and asked Sabo, who was in front of him, "What do you think about this?"
"This is good for the Revolutionary Army!" Sabo smiled slightly and offered his opinion. "Ian did a great job. The Whitebeard Pirates' victory has put the World Government and the Marines in an extremely awkward position. The Marines were originally the World Government's strongest trump card, but now that the contradiction has been intensified, it will be hard for the nations and the World Government to maintain their previous harmonious relationship. The massive military expenditures have long caused discontent among the nations. I believe the next World Conference will be quite a show!"
"Hmm!" Dragon nodded. "Once the facade of prosperity is torn away, people can see the underlying rot. The foundation of the World Government's rule will be shaken again by this incident."
Sighing, Dragon leaned back in his chair, lost in thought. "If I'm not mistaken, Sengoku is likely to resign as Fleet Admiral and retire after this war. The World Government won't blame him too much. After all, it was they who wanted to recall the Marines urgently after the Blackbeard Pirates attacked Mary Geoise. They can't make Sengoku the scapegoat for this defeat. But to eliminate the negative impact of this war, they have only one choice: to put a stronger figure in charge of the Marines..."
"Then it can only be Akainu!" Sabo said. "The World Government has always favored Akainu to succeed Sengoku as Fleet Admiral."
"Hard to say!" Dragon shook his head. "Don't forget, Akainu lost both his arms in this war. Whether he still has enough combat power to maintain his strong position is anyone's guess."
"Then could it be Aokiji or Kizaru taking over?" Sabo asked.
"I've never been able to see through Kizaru. No one knows what changes he would bring to the Marines if he became Fleet Admiral." Dragon said. "However, if Aokiji were to succeed Sengoku as Fleet Admiral, the Revolutionary Army would be in a very passive position..."
"Why?" Sabo didn't understand.
"Because if it's Aokiji, he would lead the Marines to become true Marines..." Dragon rubbed his brow. "That would be very unfavorable for our Revolutionary Army's work..."
Sabo nodded thoughtfully, beginning to understand.
What had allowed the Revolutionary Army to grow and thrive? It was oppression. Where there was oppression, there was resistance. In this process, the Marines had always played a significant role. As a tool for maintaining the World Government's rule, they inevitably had many unsavory aspects.
The Revolutionary Army had some understanding of the personalities of the three Marine Admirals and had analyzed them in detail. So Dragon believed that if Aokiji took over as Fleet Admiral, his personality might lead to serious disagreements with the World Government on certain matters, and he might even drift further away from them.
When the World Government lost the Marines, the violent institution that maintained its rule, many things might become uncertain. But it would definitely have an impact on the Revolutionary Army.
"However, maybe we're overthinking..." Dragon said with a self-deprecating smile. "Perhaps Aokiji will never sit in the Fleet Admiral's seat. The World Government will certainly want to keep the Marines under its control..."
Standing up, Dragon walked toward the door.
Sabo followed him out and asked curiously, "Uncle Dragon, where are you going?"
"I... want to go see Ian!" Dragon looked up at the sky. The sea breeze blew, lifting his hair. He said, "When Ian joined the Revolutionary Army, I knew he would bring us surprises. Now, it's proven that his appearance has accelerated our progress. Perhaps our period of hibernation is over..."
"Then..." Sabo smiled, adjusting his top hat. "Do you want me to come with you?"
"No, the Revolutionary Army headquarters needs you to hold the fort!" Dragon turned back with a smile. "Stay here. I'll go see our Revolutionary Army's third-in-command myself..."
……………………
Time did not bend to anyone's will, and things did not deviate from the world's expectations. In the following days, one major news after another kept coming out.
First, the Blackbeard Pirates' attack on Mary Geoise was revealed!
Although the World Government had been trying to suppress the news, they couldn't completely hide it in the end. After all, Sabaody Archipelago was too close to the Red Line. When the Blackbeard Pirates attacked Mary Geoise, they also set fire to many buildings, and the thick smoke was seen by a few scattered people.
Moreover, since Mary Geoise was the main route for many to cross the Red Line into the New World, the World Government had urgently closed this passage and sealed the entrance after the attack. But as time passed, people who couldn't enter the New World began to pry into what had happened.
Later, when the truth was uncovered, it caused a worldwide uproar.
"This incident proves that pirates are hard to trust!"
In the Fleet Admiral's office at Marineford, Aokiji sat opposite Sengoku, explaining his philosophy. After this war, Sengoku was somewhat disheartened and was already planning his retirement. However, he had always favored Aokiji to succeed him, so he was now listening to Aokiji's governance ideas.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, if I were to take your position, the first thing I would do is likely abolish the Seven Warlords system!" Aokiji said seriously, his hands on his knees. "I have always believed that using pirates to check pirates is a flawed decision. Both the Alabasta incident and the Dressrosa incident have proven this. These powerful and vicious pirates, once under the protection of the World Government and the Marines, may cause even greater disasters. Moreover, at critical moments, their stance remains with the pirates. They will never truly be of one mind with the Marines. In this war, whether it was Sea Knight Jinbe or Hawk-Eye Mihawk, including Boa Hancock, who has returned to Amazon Lily, and the vanished Gecko Moria, none of them played their due role. We Marines... can no longer rely on them..."
If Ian were here, he would be surprised to find that Aokiji's philosophy was the same as Fujitora's in the original history. They both intended to abolish the Seven Warlords system...
But could things really go as Aokiji imagined?...