Chapter 461: When Justice Falters

“And now?”

“Do you really still think serving the World Government is holding on to your so-called justice?”

That question cut straight to the soul.

For the first time, Tradis realized how deeply his work for the World Government had hurt the people he was meant to protect.

“No, that’s not right. You’re wrong about this.”

“Without the Navy, the seas would be even more chaotic.”

“It’s our duty to keep the peace across the ocean.”

The more he spoke, the more he felt like maybe he could convince himself.

Suddenly, Tradis perked up. The Navy did have meaning—not just as the World Government’s clean gloves, but as protectors of ordinary people, shielding them from pirates and letting them live safe, peaceful lives.

The doubts Dragon had planted in his heart slowly began to fade. In that moment, Tradis felt hope well up inside him again.

“Hahaha!”

“If that’s what you think, then you’re making a huge mistake.”

“Tradis!”

“The Navy is rotten to its very core. Without real change, we’ll just keep walking the same old path decided by the World Government.”

To fully rope Tradis in, Dragon had prepared piles of documents.

“Take a look at what’s next.”

Tradis couldn’t believe it. More evidence?

He quickly flipped to the end. There it was—page after page detailing Navy branches all across the Four Seas, listing corruption in every corner. The amount was staggering.

It was clear. Only a tiny handful of top departments kept themselves clean. Eighty or ninety percent of the Navy was already rotten from the inside out.

“Ever wonder why pirates keep appearing, even though the Navy is always chasing them down? Why are they never truly wiped out?”

“Isn’t it because of the sky-high Heavenly Gold and those Navy officers who turn a blind eye?”

“With problems like that at the source, pirates will never disappear. Everything the Navy does is just putting a patch on a sinking ship.”

“This…”

Tradis was losing it. If the Navy’s inaction was just obeying World Government orders, he could kind of accept it. After all, the Navy depended on them to survive.

But knowing the rot was spreading from within—that shattered the last defenses in his heart.

“And have you looked at how people are living under the Revolutionary Army’s protection? How happy they are?”

The last part of the documents was packed with photos and articles from the New World’s most read newspapers.

They showed countries the Revolutionary Army had liberated. Every one of them was taking the path of socialism—equality for all, no oppression, using elections and merit systems instead of bloodlines or family ties.

Only a government like that could bring real peace to the people of this world. At the very least, it wouldn’t be a place where legal slave traders exist.

“So, you want me to defect from the Navy?”

“No, nothing like that. I just hope that in the upcoming battle, you won’t get involved.”

Dragon didn’t push further after breaking Tradis’s defenses. Reducing the number of World Government heavy hitters in the coming war would tilt the odds in their favor.

“A battle?”

“Don’t tell me the Revolutionary Army is planning to assault the Red Line?”

Tradis’s eyes widened, stunned by what he’d just heard.

If Dragon was bringing all this evidence out to convince him not to fight—and was even mentioning war—what else could it be but an attack on the World Government’s stronghold on the Red Line?

What sort of war could make Dragon this tense? Only an all-out assault on the World Government’s main base on the Red Line.

Yet, as he stared at the peaceful, prosperous faces in the photos, Tradis wanted to say something, but the words caught in his throat.

“I’ve gone through your documents. For those countries in the New World, I’ll check them out myself. If they really are as you showed, I won’t fight in the coming battle.”

Tradis left the records where they were, transformed them into a golden sculpture, and soared off.

Dragon stepped forward and scooped up the documents. “I’m only worried you won’t go. But once you see for yourself what socialism really means, you’ll never step in.”

…

Meanwhile, news had reached the World Government that they’d lost four Holy Knights in the Four Seas.

In a lavish hall, the Five Elders sat together.

Marcus said, “The seas have been acting rather strange lately.”

“Why is this happening in the Four Seas? Do we have any concrete information?”

Derlin replied, “Word from below says the Revolutionary Army has become more active, sending out their own ‘Admirals.’ The most famous are Kuzan, Sakazuki, and Borsalino.”

“Those three suddenly showed up in the Four Seas and took out four Holy Knights. I’ve urgently recalled the remaining six, which kept them from being lost too.”

“Even more worrying, fighting has broken out all over the Four Seas, and the Revolutionary Army is behind it all.”

Nassourang said, “Could something big be about to happen?”

“Otherwise, what gave the Revolutionary Army the guts to brazenly appear before us?”

Woqiuli grunted, “Exactly. Normally, the Revolutionary Army is like sewer rats—almost impossible to catch. But now they’re strutting about. I say we simply send the Navy to wipe them out.”

“If that won’t do it, I’ll handle it myself.”

“Give me thirty days. I’ll clean up every last one of these gutter rats.”

Marcus let out a sigh. “You’re as hot-tempered as ever.”

“The Revolutionary Army is suddenly swarming the seas and not even hiding their motives. This feels like a cover for something even bigger.”

“They’re tightly linked with Karl’s Pirate Crew in the New World. If they’re acting up, could something have happened with Karl’s crew?”

The sudden move by the Revolutionary Army had thrown the Five Elders’ plans off. They’d wanted to weed out the Four Seas and first half of the Grand Line step by step before crushing Karl’s Pirate Crew at the right moment.

But now it was the opposition moving first.

In truth, Karl wanted to gather overwhelming strength for an all-out assault on the Red Line, leaving the Celestial Dragons with no chance to fight back—a single decisive blow.

Kaido, an old ally, was of course on board. Most members of the Revolutionary Army had once been his students or subordinates, practically making them an affiliate of his own organization.

With lots of spies and the Mafia scattered throughout the Four Seas, the World Government’s forces would be stretched thin, unable to rally together.

Karl’s biggest headache was needing Whitebeard Newgate’s power. Sadly, Newgate didn’t want to get mixed up in this war for the sake of his beloved sons. So Karl set things up in a way that would drag Whitebeard in and help him hit his true goal—it was killing two birds with one stone.

With Whitebeard’s might, they could shatter the Red Line at will. Right now, Whitebeard was in his prime, thanks to pure gold—he had no signs of aging and his strength was at its peak.

“Since they’ve made the first move, we can’t just sit back and watch.”

“We send out all available forces and root out the Revolutionary Army in the Four Seas. We deal with each threat as it comes.” Borg was as calm as ever.

“Right. No matter what, they’ve already struck first. We can’t just stand there and take it.”

“Let’s stick to this plan. And keep a close eye on Karl’s crew at all times.”

Derlin added, “Don’t worry. I’ll send every CP0 agent I have to shadow Karl’s crew and get every scrap of intel.”

“Good. Let’s do it that way.”