April 28th, 1514 of the Sea Circle Calendar.
At precisely 10 p.m., all six major cities of the Kingdom of Sasardo in the East Blue erupted in simultaneous uprisings branded as a "revolution." Nearly half of the royal army—over 200,000 strong—defected on the spot. Four of the six cities fell without resistance, seized within moments. The remaining two—Hewdon Port City and the royal capital, Sasapa—fought through a brutal night of combat. Revolutionary forces clashed with the kingdom's military and elite palace guards, laying waste to nearly half the cities in mere hours. By 9 a.m. the next morning, both had fallen.
By noon, the entire royal family and over half the ministers of Sasardo were executed by public beheading in the central plaza of Sasapa. Thus, the Kingdom of Sasardo ceased to exist—reduced to nothing more than a footnote in history.
And further south, on Sasardo Island, the Navy's 17th Branch Fortress was obliterated by a mysterious individual. The entire fortress was leveled. Vice Admiral Rook and his two Rear Admirals, eight Captains, and thousands of sailors were annihilated. Dozens of warships were sunk to the ocean floor.
What puzzled many was how the citizens of Sasardo reacted to the uprising. Rather than resist, they welcomed the rebels, even aiding them—transporting supplies, ammunition, and wounded soldiers voluntarily.
—Reported by Mohr, reporter for Lightshore News.
Somewhere in the vast waters of the East Blue, a massive, triple-mast wolfhead warship sailed steadily across calm seas.
Aboard the Chris, sunlight bathed the deck in warmth—but none of the five gathered there felt it.
They sat silently in deck chairs, each reading the morning paper, their faces dark with disbelief. The headline was as shocking as it was unreal. Of course, it had already been three days since they'd left Hewdon Port City, but the news still hit like a thunderclap.
After a long silence, Aeridar finally opened his mouth, speaking with a tone laced with dread.
"No wonder they're called the Revolutionary Army... Just one night—one night!—and they toppled one of the East Blue's largest kingdoms."
Aeridar had seen Sasardo's prosperity firsthand. Even its black market was monitored by royal agents. Its power was unquestionable. And yet, that very same kingdom had fallen overnight. The entire royal bloodline wiped out.
That kind of force... was terrifying.
"They must have been preparing for this for a long time," Aeridar continued. "Now I get why that guy stopped me from killing anyone back there. But..." he paused, brows furrowed, "he was never one to lash out at the Navy directly. Why did he go so far this time? Why kill so many? Why destroy an entire Navy branch base himself?"
"A single person flattened the 17th Branch?" Gorbo's voice cracked. "Seriously? Just one guy?! Who the hell is he?"
He wasn't overly concerned with Sasardo's collapse. What shook him was the idea that someone could wipe out an entire Navy fortress—one staffed by a Vice Admiral, two Rear Admirals, eight Captains, and thousands of personnel—not to mention the fleet.
He didn't want to believe it. To him, people like that just didn't exist. After all, the strongest person Gorbo had ever seen was Aeridar. Born and raised in the East Blue, his worldview was understandably limited.
"The Revolutionary Army... No wonder the World Government fears them," said Arlan, voice low and heavy. "It's the first time I've seen what one of the world's top powers is really capable of."
Whether on an individual or organizational level, the might they displayed was chilling.
One man leveled a Vice Admiral-class fortress.
Their forces toppled a kingdom of millions overnight.
That kind of power... was monstrous.
"Hehehe... This world... is just too damn interesting. To think there are still monsters like that out there... hehehe..." Oliver tossed the paper to the deck and ran a hand through his hair, chuckling softly.
He was stunned, sure, but not afraid. As a swordsman, this only lit a fire in him. He wanted to fight that mystery man. He wanted to get stronger—strong enough to stand in that ring.
Dimitri, on the other hand, was still shaken. That man... he'd once stood face to face with him.
"Captain... Is the Grand Line... filled with monsters like that?"
"Uhh... not exactly," Aeridar scratched his head with a grimace. "But yeah, guys on that level aren't that rare either."
He started counting on his fingers.
"There's Fleet Admiral Sengoku, Marine Hero—Garp. Then there's Black Arm Zephyr, former Admiral. The current three Admirals: Akainu—Sakazuki, Kizaru—Borsalino, Aokiji—Kuzan. Plus a dozen or two top-tier Vice Admirals."
"And then there's the Seven Warlords of the Sea, a third power on the global stage. And the Emperors—Whitebeard, Red-Haired Shanks, Big Mom, Kaido. Every one of their commanders and top officers are monsters in their own right. Hell, a lot of pirates in the New World are at least as strong as a Vice Admiral."
"As for the Revolutionary Army," Aeridar added, his voice growing serious, "they're shrouded in secrecy. No one knows their full strength. But they exist solely to oppose the World Government—so they're not our problem. Not yet."
"And finally, the World Government itself... with over 170 member nations, founded 800 years ago by twenty ambitious kings. It's the single most powerful force in the world."
"They've got weapons and warriors hidden from the world. No one knows the true extent of their power. The Navy? That's just their enforcement arm."
The more Aeridar explained, the more solemn he became.
He'd never really considered it before, but when you thought about it... the World Government was terrifying.
Especially the power it kept hidden in the shadows.
Power no one had seen, no one could predict.
The kind of power that made the entire world dance on a leash.
After all—who knew what secrets a force that had lasted 800 years might be hiding? Even if it were in decline, even if it had weakened...
An ancient camel is still larger than a horse.
As Aeridar ticked off names and titles, Oliver and the others grew darker and darker in the face.
Holy crap, they thought. We've been living in a kiddie pool...
Still, none of them felt the urge to back down.
They'd set sail. There was no turning back now.
A man doesn't flinch in the face of power. He rises to meet it.
Anything less... and he's no man. Just a coward.
In this age, true men set sail—
They challenge the seas, clash with titans,
Live for their dreams and die on their feet.
That's what it means to be a real man.
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