Pirates of the Peak

Chapter 1098 Naval Independence

"Bastieu! Did Fire Mountain misread the newspaper?"

Fujitora asked in disbelief, "While Sengoku received the newspaper, Akainu, Fujitora, and Kizaru also received it amidst Green Bull's despairing gaze."

Fujitora's Observation Haki was impressive, but he couldn't actually perceive the words on the newspaper, so he had Lieutenant General Kashoyama read the contents of the newspaper to him.

Fujitora was incredulous after hearing the story. The tale told by the Fire Mountain was too fantastical. Although Fujitora often dealt with outer space, he never thought that aliens actually existed!

Although he felt that Mount Fire wouldn't lie to him, Fujitora still subconsciously asked Bastet beside him, wanting to confirm what he had just heard through the approval of others!

"Mr. Yixiao! Lieutenant General Huoshaoshan did indeed read the contents of the newspaper!"

Moreover, these newspapers all come from the World Economic Herald, written by that old fox, so their content is unlikely to be fabricated. It seems our bosses are all demons in disguise!

Kizaru spoke next, his tone still unhurried, but with a strange quality to it. He directly confirmed the authenticity of the newspaper's contents and took the lead in believing it, characterizing the Celestial Dragons as demons!

Of course, this is not a derogatory statement by Kizaru; he is simply stating a fact, because he really did see the Five Elders turn into demons in Egerhard, and they also turned the Straw Hat crew into demons.

From that time on, he developed a deep fear and wariness of the world government!

"I never imagined that the Celestial Dragons were actually invaders of this world, and they even packaged themselves as descendants of the creator. How shameless! Everyone, be quiet!"

"I hereby declare that I, Sakazuki, on behalf of the Navy, hereby declare that from this day forward, the Navy will be completely separated from the World Government and become an independent organization!"

We can no longer associate with those Celestial Dragons, these invaders, or we'll be condemned by millions of people.

The naval ideals of justice will be completely corrupted, leaving them devoid of faith and turning them into a group of homeless, wandering ghosts! Now, I'm giving you three choices!

"First, that is to stay, become a member of the independent navy, continue to uphold justice in this world, never forget our original aspirations, and firmly uphold the justice in our hearts!"

"Secondly, that is to leave the navy and return to where you came from!"

I know that among those who read this newspaper, some must be disheartened and discouraged. Since the flame in your hearts has been extinguished, let's get away from this place of trouble and leave. Let's part ways amicably!

"Third, that is to continue to be the servant and henchman of the World Government and the Celestial Dragons!"

I know some people doubt the veracity of the newspaper articles, and some people, regardless of the truth, just want to cling to the World Government. You can now leave the Navy and stand on the World Government's side!

But can they really cling to that powerful figure? The Celestial Dragons' evil deeds have been exposed, and they will soon be condemned by the world. To still think of clinging to the World Government at this point is either wishful thinking or sheer stupidity. I urge you to think twice before you act!

"You have fifteen minutes to make a choice. Those who want to leave the Navy and go home, go to the top of the mountain to find Gion and Kakei, tell them my decision, and let them arrange for warships to send you away!"

Those who wish to continue serving the World Government, stand on the other side. From now on, we are enemies, and we will show no mercy when we meet on the battlefield!

Akainu first sighed a few times, then let out a loud roar, silencing the noisy discussions within the Navy!

His declaration silenced the navy!

The three options he presented left most people deep in thought, a small number confused, and an even smaller group with shifty eyes, quickly weighing the pros and cons and the gains and losses in their minds!

A small newspaper instantly tore the Navy apart. Although it was sudden, it was not abrupt. This was the opportunity that Akainu had been looking for!

When the opportunity arose, he immediately seized it. Akainu wanted to lead the Navy in rebellion against the World Government, but he needed a legitimate pretext. Otherwise, most of the Navy would not follow his lead, which was not what he wanted!

It's like a general suddenly telling his soldiers that he wants to rebel against the emperor, without any reason at all. Would the soldiers really listen to him?

The soldiers were paid by the emperor and ate the food provided by the court. The general was merely acting on behalf of the emperor to command these soldiers. How could they possibly use the emperor's troops to rebel against the emperor?

How could that be? Unless the emperor did something that would enrage both heaven and man!

The relationship between the World Government and the Navy is similar. The World Government pays for the Navy's operations. Without a reasonable reason, how could the Navy follow Akainu, the nominal commander, in rebellion?

This is also why Akainu hasn't taken any action, and why he's brushed off Green Bull's request.

Until the newspapers appeared, which recorded the deeds of the Celestial Dragons that angered both heaven and man, Akainu knew that his opportunity had come. As long as he used the righteous cause to rally the masses, the vast majority of the Marines would stand on his side!

Akainu gave them 15 minutes to think it over, so the Navy hasn't made any moves yet. However, Akainu's shout was so loud that he had used his voice to the limit so that all the Navy members present could hear him!

So not only the Navy heard his declaration, but the pirates on the other side also heard it. At this moment, they all looked at the Navy with surprise. Regardless of their previous impression of Akainu, they now felt a sense of awe and respect!

The Five Elders and the Knights of God, who were fighting against Straw Hat Luffy's group, also heard Akainu's declaration, and they were all furious!

The dog they raised dared to bite its master and rebel in front of them. It's like slapping their faces in the ground!

However, they were not irrational. They knew that this incident was probably related to the contents of the newspaper that had fallen earlier, and they started communicating via internal voice communication!

Next, all the Divine Knights and trainee Divine Knights took the opportunity to retreat to the side of the Five Elders. They also needed to see what evil content was published in the newspapers and find out the reason for the Navy's rebellion!

At this point, the battle in the valley came to a complete halt due to a sudden downpour of newspapers!

Luffy and his crew retreated back to Vic's side. They wanted to pick up the newspapers on the ground to see what had happened, but Vic stopped them using his telepathic communication technique and then directly engraved the contents of the newspapers into Luffy and his crew's memories!

It's quite important to make those pirates mistakenly believe that Luffy leaked the information to Morgans!

If they act as if they have no idea what the newspaper is about, it will arouse suspicion and make people question whether Morgans is fabricating an outrageous story in the newspaper to do something wicked!

Therefore, Luffy and his crew must make it seem as if all of this was already within their expectations.

"Vic! You must have done this for us, right? I only told you about Joey Boy's message!"

Luffy approached Vic and asked excitedly, explaining that he had used a Den Den Mushi to inform Vic of Joy Boy's message after leaving Laugh Tale.

One of the intentions was to get Vic to help spread the word. Now that they know the content has been published in the newspaper, they naturally assume it was Vic who did it.

Vic shook his head and chuckled without saying a word. He had indeed considered this, but hadn't had time to put it into practice yet!

He certainly didn't do it, but he can't admit it now, otherwise he'll fall into the same old trap as Morgans, who had the wolfish ambition to fabricate stories and slander the Celestial Dragons!

So naturally, Vic couldn't admit it, but he was unwilling to lie, so he could only shake his head and chuckle, giving people the illusion that it wasn't something to worry about too much.