As 1518 neared its end, the World Conference, held every four years, began. Leaders from over 170 countries across the seas gathered at Mary Geoise, the Holy Land.
With the world watching, the Revolutionary Army made their move. Revolutions suddenly erupted in more than a dozen countries scattered across the Four Seas!
Inside the Marine Headquarters conference room, Sengoku, Tsuru, Garp, and almost all of the top Marine officers were present.
"The World Conference is happening now. All the forces that could stop the Revolutionary Army are busy protecting the royals," one officer said. "We don't have any extra fighters to spare."
"The Revolutionary Army has been planning this for a long ti!" another exclaid.
"Out of all these revolutions, how many are real?" soone questioned.
Given the Revolutionary Army's current size, it seed impossible for them to actually overthrow a dozen countries at once. Tsuru believed that at least ten of these revolutions were just distractions, ant to confuse the World Governnt and the Marines.
Without extra troops, figuring out the Revolutionary Army's true target was proving incredibly difficult.
"There's sothing else too!" Sengoku announced, rubbing his head, which was starting to ache. He shared the latest news: "Several warships escorting royal families in the Four Seas were attacked by the Revolutionary Army. But this ti, they weren't after the royals themselves; they were after the Celestial Tribute. They stole the tributes from four countries!"
The room fell silent.
Everyone's faces turned grim. Protecting the Celestial Tribute was the Marine's responsibility. But with their forces spread thin, guarding the royal families, they couldn't stop the Revolutionary Army's main force.
"What did the Celestial Dragons say?" soone asked.
"They're furious! They've ordered us to get the Celestial Tribute back, no matter the cost!"
The Celestial Tribute was essentially money offered to the Celestial Dragons.
Learning that their money had been stolen, the Celestial Dragons were enraged. To them, this was even worse than a mber state being overthrown.
After all, the lives of ordinary people in those countries were just numbers to the Celestial Dragons. They didn't care how many died.
In fact, every few years, any country that couldn't afford to pay the Celestial Tribute was stripped of its mber status and left to beco a lawless land.
To make up for this, the Celestial Dragons would regularly hold cruel competitions where they slaughtered people from unclaid nations with valuable resources. Then, they'd sell the island at a high price to royal families eager to establish their own kingdoms.
Through immigration and other ans, combined with humanity's ability to reproduce quickly, a new mber state could be born in just twenty years.
This was the World Governnt's primary thod for maintaining the number of mber states!
Sengoku turned to Garp. "Garp, the Goa Kingdom's Celestial Tribute was also stolen by the Revolutionary Army. You know what that ans, right?"
"I understand," Garp replied, his eyes filled with worry.
With the Celestial Tribute gone, soone would have to pay the price. The Celestial Dragons wouldn't listen to reason.
If they couldn't recover the tribute, the Goa Kingdom would likely suffer the consequences. The nobles would undoubtedly force the common people to make up for the shortfall.
But Garp couldn't go to East Blue right now.
Suddenly, Tsuru spoke up. "Roya is in East Blue!"
"Can we confirm that?" Sengoku asked.
"Yes, Roya was spotted at the 153rd Branch in East Blue not long ago. He shouldn't have left."
"That kid..." Everyone hesitated.
While Roya was known for causing trouble, his strength was undeniable. If they sent him to investigate the stolen Celestial Tribute, he might actually succeed.
As for Roya's suspension...
With the situation so urgent, who cared about such minor details? Leaving such a powerful force unused would be a dereliction of duty.
"Contact Roya imdiately!" Sengoku ordered.
"Understood!"
"We also need to send people to the other sea areas to track down the tributes!"
Since the tributes from four countries, each from a different sea, had been stolen, they had to send troops to investigate each area.
----
In East Blue, on the island of Elegia, a land known for its music, the Frost Wolf Mini was docked at a run-down port.
The Revolutionary Army had quickly located the island, likely using records of Red Hair's destructive actions and their lasting impact.
The Marine's intelligence departnt probably had similar records, but Roya didn't want Headquarters knowing his movents, so he hadn't contacted his subordinates.
Roya stood on the coast, holding a Den Den Mushi in his hand, looking rather perplexed.
"You want to find the Celestial Tribute?" he asked.
"That's right. The Revolutionary Army is causing revolutions in several countries in East Blue. They'll probably use the stolen Celestial Tribute to fund their operations, but it'll be hard to spend such a large amount of money quickly. Your mission is to get it back!"
The Den Den Mushi relayed Sengoku's orders.
Roya yawned and said casually, "Marshal Sengoku, I'm still suspended!"
The Den Den Mushi went silent for a mont, then roared, "This is an order!"
"Alright, alright, I get it! Why are you shouting? Don't act like a young person when you're old; getting angry will make you lose your hair."
Roya felt his sarcastic skills had improved. He smiled and continued, "Marshal Sengoku, are there any benefits to finding the Celestial Tribute?"
Sengoku's breathing quickened. He knew Roya was trying to negotiate. That kid never worked unless he saw so personal gain.
"If you can recover the Celestial Tribute, I won't pursue the matter of Kaido's daughter!"
"Okay, I'll do it!" Roya hung up the Den Den Mushi.
Tsk, he actually did it , Roya thought.
He'd only been joking, but Dragon was serious about robbing the Goa Kingdom's tribute.
Good job!
But before finding Dragon to split the money, there were more important things to do.
Roya looked toward the center of the island.
The towns looked as if they had been through a war. Because no one had lived there for so long, plants covered many of the houses, and moss grew on the walls.
As expected, Red Hair's daughter is on this island.
"Roya, look!" Yamato shouted, walking barefoot on the beach. She held up a beautiful seashell as if she'd found treasure.
"Pooh ~ pooh ~ ~" The little girl blew into the seashell, her face turning red.
Roya sighed. He took the seashell and broke off the tip. "You have to break off the tip first, then you can blow," he explained.
"Ah, is that so?" Yamato tried again.
"Ooh ~ ooh ~ ~" This ti, the sound was low but carried far.
Sowhere else on the island, Uta sat on the edge of a high platform, humming softly. She tapped her feet, lost in the world of music.
"Ooh ~ ooh ~ ~"
Eh, is that the sound of a seashell?
Extrely sensitive to sound, she quickly recognized the sound and looked for its source, surprised.
It's on that coast!
Has soone co to this island?
Since Elegia was destroyed, only she and her foster father, Gordon, remained. No outsiders had ever co.
Uta stood up and looked toward the coast, vaguely seeing two figures playing in the water on the beach.
Soone really ca!
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[T/N:
Final Total Power Stone Collection : 722 PS
Goal : Reach 50 Total PS = 2 Bonus Chapters next day! 🚀
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➡️ /Boundless_Beacon
]
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