Uchiha's personal opinion

……

"The Alliance of Thirteen Republics?"

The chaos in the East Blue, especially the successive collapses of various kingdoms, also alarmed Vice Admiral Garp, who was already overwhelmed with problems.

"These pseudo-regimes in small countries are not a threat, but we must not let our guard down against the person who is manipulating this matter!"

After reviewing the intelligence report, Lieutenant General Tsuru also shared his opinion: "This man named Ashura is more dangerous than a hundred so-called republics!"

"Shall we offer a bounty?"

A rear admiral asked.

"A bounty alone isn't enough..."

Vice Admiral Garp shook his head: "This matter requires the involvement of the World Government, after all, those so-called republics were once part of the constituent kingdoms..."

The navy fleet is currently not only tasked with pursuing the Kirigakure Pirates, but also with eliminating the endless stream of pirate groups emerging from the surrounding kingdoms. They simply don't have any spare manpower.

Moreover, Vice Admiral Garp was unwilling to target these so-called republics, because he understood what it would mean for the citizens of these republics if the navy launched an attack—especially now that there were signs of people killing innocent civilians to claim credit for their services within the navy.

"But we cannot remain inactive."

Lieutenant General Tsuru once again voiced his opinion.

"I'll need you to take command of the military affairs for a while from now on..."

Lieutenant General Garp pondered for a moment, then said to Lieutenant General Tsuru, "As for the so-called Thirteen Republics, I intend to go and see for myself..."

"...You all step back!"

Vice Admiral Tsuru's expression changed, and he then dismissed the naval officers and soldiers present.

"Speak, what do you want?"

"...I'll just take a look."

Lieutenant General Karp replied.

Lieutenant General Tsuru looked at Lieutenant General Garp, whose face was gloomy, and hesitated to speak.

“I know what you’re worried about, but it’s not that bad…”

Lieutenant General Garp sighed and said quietly, "However, this world cannot remain unchanged."

"You've never been one to listen to others' opinions, so I suppose no matter what I say, it won't make a difference..."

Lieutenant General Tsuru shook his head. "But I hope you don't go that far!"

Lieutenant General Garp was about to say something when there was a rapid knocking at the door.

"Lieutenant Generals, urgent news from the front—the fourteenth republic has been established!"

The naval officer who rushed in was panting heavily.

"What's so strange about that..."

Lieutenant General Tsuru said with some dissatisfaction.

She wanted to kick those naval officers out so she could have a proper talk with her old friend Garp and tell him not to overthink things; but this tactless naval officer's intrusion interrupted her train of thought.

"This time, it wasn't founded by that Asura man..."

The naval officer handed over the intelligence he was holding.

Lieutenant General Garp took a look and his expression immediately changed: "A second force has appeared!"

"Who is it?!"

Vice Admiral Tsuru was also somewhat surprised: "Could it be that the Hidden Mist Pirates have established an independent country?"

"It's not Mist Village."

Lieutenant General Garp shook his head, his tone carrying an ambiguous meaning: "It's the Self-Defense Force..."

"A dragon..."

Upon hearing this, Lieutenant General He was truly at a loss for words.

"Now Dragon has renamed his forces the Revolutionary Army, claiming he will completely overthrow the East China Sea..."

Vice Admiral Garp suppressed his inner impulse, handed the intelligence to Vice Admiral Tsuru, and stood up, saying, "Therefore, I can no longer sit idly by."

"I will report to headquarters in seven days..."

Lieutenant General Tsuru remained silent for a while before speaking softly.

Lieutenant General Garp nodded slowly, then strode away from his cabin.

Chapter 520 The Advance of the Ocean

Unlike Ashura, who was stirring up a republican revolution in the East Blue, Minato Namikaze and his crew, who were ordered to lead their troops to sneak into the New World, the latter half of the Grand Line, were in a much more disheveled state.

Especially since he had three little brats under his command who needed protection, it added a lot of unnecessary trouble.

In particular, Nagato, who possesses a pair of Sharingan that never closes, attracted the attention of a Celestial Dragon in the Sabaody Archipelago, causing a series of troubles.

Although Minato Namikaze and three Jonin mercilessly killed the Celestial Dragons and their entourage in the street, the subsequent large-scale manhunt caused great trouble for the later underwater smuggling operations. Even the infiltration agency led by Nobutora Uchiha had several safe houses destroyed.

……

"Hey Nagato... how long are you planning to keep playing around with this kill?"

On a fast ship that had successfully smuggled itself into the New World and was now speeding away from the Navy's pursuit, Konan finally couldn't help but say to Nagato, "Don't you feel disgusted carrying such an ugly head?"

"I need to observe it further. Besides, isn't it handled quite well? It's been treated with a special solution, so it won't rot or smell bad..."

Nagato tossed the 'lightweight' head in his hand as if it were a bowling ball: "What's so special about these creatures called Celestial Dragons? I really can't figure it out."

"Ugly!"

Xiao Nan said with a look of disgust.

"Senior Shiguro, what do you think is the peculiarity of the Celestial Dragons?"

Nagato shrugged dismissively, then asked Aburame Shiguro, who was sitting in the corner.

"what!"

Suddenly realizing she actually had some presence, Shiro Aburame adjusted her small sunglasses, cleared her throat, and began a long-winded speech: "According to intelligence, the so-called Celestial Dragons are not some kind of creature. They are at the top of the World Government, the so-called World Nobles, possessing the power to enjoy celestial wealth and be free from the constraints of law..."

“Senior Shiguro, that’s not what I want to know.”

Nagato interrupted Shiro Aburame: "What I want to know is, why is this ugly and powerless group revered as world nobles and served by so many powerful individuals..."

"Furthermore, judging from the reaction in the Sabaody Archipelago, this Celestial Dragon is no match for even ordinary naval officers, yet he manages to gain the loyalty of so many powerful individuals. So... what makes him so special?"

"do not know."

Aburame Shiro shrugged and spread his hands, indicating that he was unaware of the matter.

His understanding of the pirate world was limited to the intelligence materials he had read before the mission, and even the authenticity of those materials was questionable due to the limited channels available to his intelligence personnel.

"Perhaps you can view the Celestial Dragons as the daimyo and nobles of the various ninja countries before the establishment of their dynasties."

Minato Namikaze, who had just changed shifts with Akimichi Tou, sat down next to Nagato and said gently, "These vested interest groups will use all sorts of loud slogans to package their own righteousness and use fame and fortune as bait to incite others to attack opponents, thereby maintaining their own rule."

"But the daimyo and noble families of the ninja world have been completely wiped out."

Nagato asked again, "But the strength of the powerful beings in this world is even greater than that of the ninja world, so why are they..."

"Perhaps it's not the right time yet..."

Minato Namikaze said somewhat uncertainly, "The collapse of the ruling class generally takes a certain amount of time, and although the old regime is corrupt, it will not naturally disappear before its loyal supporters are exhausted."

"Moreover, although the era of one village, one country did not last long, in fact, as early as the Warring States period, the daimyo nobles had already achieved de facto rule over the world by hiring ninjas for external warfare and internal suppression."

"In addition, the nobles intermarried and became related by marriage, so even though the five great ninja villages were once deeply antagonistic, they did not pose a threat to the rule of the daimyo of the five great nations."

Nagato seemed lost in thought.

"Minato-sensei, is there any possibility...?"

Yahiko, who had been listening attentively, raised his hand and asked, "Could it be that the reason why the pirates in this world are so powerful is because the so-called World Government deliberately allowed them to grow stronger?"

"To establish a target as a common enemy in order to maintain the legitimacy of the rule? That makes sense."

Inuzuka Jacques affirmed Yahiko's statement: "As expected of a top student from the Police Department's Information Section, his intelligence analysis and correlation analysis abilities are quite good."

"Forget it, let's not talk about these things..."

Minato Namikaze stopped his subordinates from making wild, unfounded associations, and at the same time unsealed a set of fishing gear from the sealed scroll: "What kind of fish do you want to cook today? I'll go fishing now."

"Even if I eat myself to death from overeating military rations, starve myself to death, or even jump off the ship to feed the fish, I will never eat fish again!"

Nagato, who was tired of eating fish since they set sail, looked disgusted.

at night--

"Fish from the New World tastes so good as sashimi!"

Nagato's chopsticks moved faster than his kunai.

……

As the tide of the 'Republic Revolution' in the East China Sea grows ever stronger, the tactical maneuvering space of the vanguard fleet led by Uchiha Shiina is increasing.

Especially after the Republic Alliance began to take shape and gained the support of some pirate crews, the advance fleet's resupply became increasingly convenient.

Vice Admiral Tsuru, who temporarily took command of the naval Buster Order fleet, felt extremely uncomfortable.

Because the calm zone in the park has been weakened to the point of almost disappearing.

This directly led to the Sea Kings gradually migrating out of their original calm zone habitats and starting to wreak havoc in various parts of the East China Sea. Of course, another reason was that the fishing fleets of the Ninja World Union Company continuously increased the amount of fish caught in the fishing grounds of the Demon Triangle, which indirectly led to a decline in the population of some migratory fish. As a result, some relatively weak Sea Kings could not obtain enough food and had no choice but to migrate after losing the competition.

The original Grand Line was relatively safe, as the Navy had enough branch bases to wipe out the relatively weak Sea Kings and Giants. However, the East Blue was different. Before Juzo Biwa fled, he had already ravaged most of the Navy's branch bases with average strength. Furthermore, the Buster Call fleet suffered heavy losses in repeated battles with the vanguard fleet, making it impossible to maintain high-intensity patrols and clearing operations.

In addition, the Buster Call fleet faced another problem: it was unable to split its forces for attack.

Because the speed of the vanguard fleet's warships is completely overwhelming compared to that of the naval warships, once the squadron is discovered by the vanguard, their best outcome is to desperately intercept the shells and wait for support.

As for a counterattack, there was no chance at all. The cautious vanguard ninjas would rather sacrifice some accuracy of their cannon fire than close the distance between their warships and the enemy ships.

Therefore, Lieutenant General Tsuru discovered that she could do nothing.

In particular, Vice Admiral Garp had already left the fleet and gone alone to the islands of the East China Sea to 'investigate' the situation of the various independent republics for eight days.