Chapter 484: Storm Over the Four Seas

“Viaz, take your Fifth Army Corps and quell the chaos in the Four Seas.”

“Understood, Lord Woqiuli!”

Viaz knew that landing such an enormous opportunity on his head was entirely thanks to Lord Woqiuli fighting for him at the meeting of the Five Elders.

After all, the other four great corps weren’t under his family’s control. This was their only chance to plant a top commander in the Army.

What Viaz didn’t know was that this journey to the Four Seas would become his grave.

“I entrusted you with this task for good reason. I trust you understand my intentions. Now go.”

“Yes, my lord!”

Viaz promptly bid farewell to Woqiuli and hurried to the Fifth Corps’ base. Rather than assembling his troops right away, he summoned his intelligence officer to bring him information on the Four Seas.

“Has the situation in the Four Seas really gotten this serious?”

Viaz could hardly believe it. He’d thought only a small uprising from the Revolutionary Army was brewing, but he hadn’t expected that just in East Blue alone there were almost 300,000 revolutionaries and more than ten nations embroiled in turmoil. That made things a whole lot trickier.

Still, seeing four members of the Holy Knights standing nearby in their golden armor gave him some comfort.

Thankfully, his family sent four powerhouse generals to back him up. Otherwise, handling this hot potato in the Four Seas would have left him out of his depth.

“Take a look at this intel too.”

Alsto, Marty, and Russ—the three deputy commanders of the Fifth Army Corps—were all nearly admiral-level in strength.

People say the Navy is the World Government’s strongest force, but that’s not exactly true.

The Army is the true powerhouse. While the Navy seems strong across the seas, compared to the Army right under the Celestial Dragons’ noses on the Red Line, their combat strength is every bit as fierce. There are at least five admiral-level soldiers, far surpassing what the Navy has out in the open.

While most of these admirals’ strength comes from Devil Fruits or other means, don’t be fooled by the supposed small gap between admiral and vice admiral. In reality, it’s worlds apart—no matter how many vice admirals you throw in, they could never take down one admiral.

“The Revolutionary Army in the Four Seas has already gotten this wild. I initially planned to split our forces, but now we’ve got to join together and handle East Blue first.”

Viaz saw East Blue had the smallest rebel force, so he decided this would be the breakthrough point.

Strike where they’re weak and take them down one by one. Handle one, then move on to the next.

“Commander, based on our current plan, East Blue should be our first target.”

The three deputies read through the files and agreed—attacking East Blue first and keeping the forces united was the right call.

The rebel numbers in the South and North Seas, even the West, and the war-torn countries there, far outstripped those in East Blue.

East Blue was Dragon’s homeland, so he didn’t want to use excessive force to advance the Revolutionary Army’s goals.

The other seas didn’t have someone like Dragon holding things together. Their goal was world peace as quickly as possible, so their methods tended to be much more aggressive.

“Alright, that’s the plan. Move out right away—use the secret passage through the Red Line and head for East Blue.”

Over the years, with the World Government’s shadowy handiwork, the heart of the Red Line had been hollowed out like a wasps’ nest. Don’t ever think the Government lacked that kind of muscle.

An hour after the Fifth Army Corps secretly set out, Dragon in East Blue got a call from an unfamiliar number.

“The newly-formed Fifth Army Corps is headed for East Blue. Be on your guard!”

Click.

“So it’s begun—the tide of a new era!”

Dragon looked up at the sky. Dark clouds were creeping across what had been a clear day. Squinting, he turned with his hands behind his back.

“Brrrr!”

“The World Government took the bait. The Army is coming for East Blue.”

“So what do we do? Do we send support to East Blue now?”

Dragon’s eyes lingered on the four Den Den Mushi on the table, his right finger tapping lightly.

One snail each for Borsalino, Sakazuki, Kuzan, and Kuma.

“Don’t come just yet. Something about this all feels off.”

At first, Dragon was set on having everyone gather and wipe out the Fifth Corps’ elite in a single blow before returning to their respective seas. The rest of the Army would be left to clash with East Blue’s revolutionaries.

That would have forced the World Government to send more soldiers, leaving Mariejois wide open. But why was it the Fifth Corps—recently formed—getting sent out now?

Why would the Five Elders risk sending rookies at a moment like this? There was definitely a scheme behind it.

“Keep close watch on your own seas. I doubt the World Government will just leave things at that.”

“For now, spread the word like you’re all heading to East Blue. Let’s see how the Government reacts.”

“Wagada!”

Clack!

After hanging up, Dragon pulled a pack of soft Zhonghua cigarettes from his cloak and walked down to a huge boulder by the shore, staring into the distance.

“The more critical the moment, the more I can’t let my guard down.”

“Hello…”

…

After hanging up, Sakazuki, Borsalino, and Kuzan all gathered their subordinates, announcing plans to sail for East Blue.

They set out for East Blue in full view of their crews, but in reality, their true bodies remained behind. Only energy-based doubles were sent out.

News of this quickly reached the Five Elders at the top of the World Government, thanks to spies inside the Revolutionary Army.

But this time, Woqiuli was absent from the Five Elders’ assembly.

Long-Bearded Five Elder—Marcus: “Looks like we’ve made the right move with this strategy.”

Derlin (Intelligence): “Yeah. If that blockhead Woqiuli hadn’t been so simple-minded, we might not have pulled this off.”

Borg (Lawmaker): “Still, this means we’ll have to split some of the spoils.”

Nassourang: “Doesn’t matter. If we can take down the Revolutionary Army in one stroke, a few concessions are worth it, as long as we still control the world.”

“Then let’s get the new orders out.” Marcus pulled a file from his coat, set it on the table, and let the others look it over.

As they flipped through the papers, Marcus continued, “The Revolutionary Army’s power keeps growing. Even with the top commanders gone from the other three seas, sending just a few troops won’t fix this.”

“Exactly. Either we don’t act, or we come down like a thunderstorm and wipe out all evil in one go.”

“I propose we send the Second, Third, and Fourth Corps to the South, North, and West Seas. It’s time to completely root out the Revolutionary Army from the Four Seas and crush any hope of a comeback.”

Nassourang was ruthless—he believed if you’re going to strike, you bring the hammer down hard, never giving the revolutionaries another chance.

If they managed to eliminate nearly two million revolutionaries in the Four Seas this time, the seas would finally know peace again.

The number of allied nations under the World Government would rise back to its former glory, letting them stir up storms or bring calm as they pleased.