Yet beneath the exhaustion and bloodstains covering those battered faces, grief and resolve remained unmistakably clear.
The Marines closed their eyes tightly, as though trying for just a moment to escape the cruelty of reality, even though none of them could truly forget what they had witnessed. Their lips were pressed into thin lines, as if the slightest relaxation would allow everything they had been suppressing to come pouring out at once.
Again and again, memories surfaced in their minds.
The final words of comrades who had spent their last breaths entrusting unfinished hopes to those who survived.
The sight of soldiers covering one another beneath relentless gunfire, putting their own lives aside without hesitation to protect the people beside them.
And the faces of those who would remain forever in that distant sea—friends who only days ago had stood beside them, laughing, talking, and preparing for battle together.
Gradually, tears began sliding down the young soldiers' dirt-streaked faces.
The clear droplets mixed with grime and dried blood before falling onto the ground beneath their feet—the very land they had once sworn to defend with their lives.
Every tear carried memories of fallen comrades, questions about the war they had just fought, and uncertainty over what awaited them now.
Even the hardest, most battle-hardened officers could no longer completely hide their emotions.
Several had reddened eyes.
Others trembled faintly as they struggled to keep their grief under control, their shoulders rising and falling beneath the effort.
The silence surrounding them became its own kind of monument.
A memorial to those who had died.
A scar carved permanently into the souls of everyone who had survived this catastrophic defeat.
And somewhere beneath all that pain, it also nurtured something else—a stubborn refusal to simply surrender to despair.
Sengoku slowly raised his head.
Grief weighed heavily upon his weathered features, but his gaze remained steady as he looked toward the vast sea that had swallowed so many Marine lives.
For a moment, distance itself seemed meaningless.
In his mind, he could almost see them resting beneath those cold, dark waters.
Men and women who had once carried dreams and convictions of their own.
Soldiers who had fought believing they were defending the seas and upholding justice.
Now they would never return.
After a long silence, Sengoku's cracked lips finally moved.
His voice was hoarse and heavy.
"Moment of silence."
The words were not loud.
They did not need to be.
Every Marine in the harbor heard them clearly.
As one, the entire force lowered their heads.
No further orders were necessary.
Officers and enlisted soldiers alike stood in solemn silence, mourning those who had died.
Each bowed head carried memories of a friend, a subordinate, a superior, or a comrade who would never again stand beside them.
And at the same time, they silently engraved this unprecedented defeat into their hearts.
The pain.
The humiliation.
The lesson.
None of it would be forgotten.
Marineford remained beneath the enormous shadow of defeat.
Yet within that silent mourning, something subtle was already beginning to take root.
A desire for revenge.
A determination to rebuild.
For now, those feelings were only small sparks buried beneath overwhelming grief.
But one day, they might become the fire that drove the Marines forward again.
...
At the Central Temple of the Eternal Divine Kingdom, everything could not have been more different.
The magnificent structure towered above the surrounding land with an imposing sense of majesty and sanctity. Every architectural detail conveyed authority, while sunlight streamed through enormous stained-glass windows and scattered brilliant patterns across the polished floor.
Ron sat high upon the throne.
His posture was straight and composed, his presence alone enough to dominate the vast hall.
One finger tapped rhythmically against the smooth white stone armrest.
Below him stood an intelligence officer, delivering a detailed report.
The Revolutionary Army was actively seeking cooperation with the Eternal Divine Kingdom.
The officer spoke clearly and methodically, presenting every piece of information they had obtained without omission.
Ron listened in silence.
His expression remained calm throughout, almost as though the development did not surprise him in the slightest.
"Cooperation?"
Ron finally raised his head.
A faint, meaningful smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
His gaze seemed to pass beyond the towering ceiling of the temple, toward a future still filled with countless uncertainties.
For a moment, the atmosphere inside the hall became noticeably heavier.
"The World Government is a mountain that needs to be brought down."
Ron gave a slight nod.
"If that's the goal, having another ally is obviously better than making another enemy."
His words amounted to approval in principle.
But before anyone could assume the matter had already been settled, Ron continued.
His voice remained calm.
Yet there was an unmistakable authority behind it.
"However, there is one condition for cooperation."
The hall fell completely silent.
"The Eternal Divine Kingdom will take the lead."
Ron's fingers stopped tapping against the armrest.
"All operations will be carried out under the Divine Kingdom's unified command."
There was no room for ambiguity in his words.
If the Revolutionary Army wished to stand beside the Eternal Divine Kingdom against the World Government, then it would have to accept who now held the initiative.
...
Ron's gaze slowly swept across the captains and core members standing throughout the hall.
Their postures had already been perfectly straight, yet under his gaze they seemed to stiffen even further, their eyes filled with absolute loyalty and respect.
But Ron's attention did not remain on them for long.
It was almost as though his gaze crossed the distance between them, piercing through the layers of mist and sea until it finally settled upon the Revolutionary Army commander he had yet to meet—
Monkey D. Dragon.
"Tell Monkey D. Dragon that the path of the Divine Kingdom is the path toward the future."
Confidence shone in Ron's eyes as he continued.
"If he truly intends to liberate this world, then he should understand that only by gathering beneath a single banner can we assemble enough strength to shake the foundations that have stood for eight hundred years."
"Scattered forces are nothing more than grains of sand on a beach. They can be swept away one by one and will never become a force powerful enough to change the world."
His words carried absolute conviction, as though sounding the opening drumbeat for the upheaval soon to come.
...
Several tense days later, on a neutral island somewhere in the vast waters of the New World, a secret meeting quietly took place.
Dense forests surrounded the island like a natural barrier, hiding it from prying eyes and insulating it from the turmoil beyond its shores.
Deep within that secluded island, representatives of two forces whose decisions could influence the fate of the world had gathered.
"So they actually approved the proposal!"
"Ron, the ruler of the Divine Kingdom, really is impressive for someone so young."
"And ridiculously strong, too!"
Dragon entered the meeting place with steady steps.
A dark-green cloak covered his broad frame, its heavy fabric shifting faintly as he walked. The low hood cast most of his face into shadow, concealing his expression from everyone around him.
Only his tightly pressed lips betrayed the emotions stirring beneath his otherwise composed exterior.
The focus of this meeting was simple—
the terms of cooperation formally conveyed by the Eternal Divine Kingdom.
And those terms were anything but lenient.
Every clause directly touched upon the Revolutionary Army's independence, command structure, and strategic interests.
Dragon remained silent as the Divine Kingdom envoy explained each condition in detail.
His expression grew increasingly thoughtful.
The Eternal Divine Kingdom's dominant position did not surprise him.
After all, the recent war had already demonstrated just how overwhelming its power had become.
The Divine Kingdom had confronted Marine Headquarters head-on and crushed the full-scale assault launched against it.
Its military strength had stunned the world, and its prestige was now at an unprecedented height.
Its influence was spreading into every corner of the seas.
Under circumstances like these, demanding leadership over any alliance was almost inevitable.
If the Revolutionary Army rejected the proposal, the consequences would be difficult to ignore.
They would continue bearing the World Government's enormous pressure alone while potentially creating unnecessary friction with the newly risen Eternal Divine Kingdom simply because their positions remained unclear.
Fighting on multiple fronts would divide their attention, consume already limited resources, and make their difficult struggle even harder.
But accepting the conditions came with its own price.
It would mean surrendering much of the independence and strategic freedom the Revolutionary Army had spent years preserving.
From that point onward, they could no longer act entirely according to their own plans.
Their major operations would have to follow the direction of another power.
Decisions could be influenced.
Missions could be redirected.
For an organization whose very purpose centered upon freedom, that was no small concession.
Dragon understood perfectly well that whichever choice he made would reshape the Revolutionary Army's future.
His gaze became increasingly distant as he searched through the tangled situation for the path that best served their ultimate goal.
A long silence passed.
Finally, Dragon raised his head.
His weathered face seemed carved from stone, every line shaped by years of hardship and determination.
A flash of resolve appeared in his deep eyes.
Memories surfaced one after another.
Kingdoms that had once prospered, now suffocating beneath oppression.
Desperate people crying out beneath tyrannical rule.
Revolutionaries who had charged forward knowing full well that they might never return.
Countless lives had been lost along the road toward freedom.
Blood had soaked the ground again and again, but the beliefs of those who fought had never disappeared.
Every battle had demanded lives.
Every sacrifice had carried someone's hope for a better future.
Those voices seemed to echo inside Dragon even now, urging him to decide.
Compared to the distant but magnificent goal they had pursued for so many years, his personal authority suddenly seemed insignificant.
Even the Revolutionary Army's organizational independence no longer felt like something that could never be compromised.
If surrendering some of that freedom brought them closer to the world they had always dreamed of creating, then perhaps it was a price worth paying.
After all, compared with freeing the oppressed and overthrowing tyranny, what did personal power truly matter?
"For… the real dawn."
Dragon's low voice broke the silence.
The words were simple, but carried the weight of a decision he had not made lightly.
There was relief in his tone, as though he had finally cast aside something that had been weighing on him.
But more than that, there was conviction.
Dragon turned toward the Eternal Divine Kingdom's envoy.
There was no longer any hesitation in his eyes.
Then, clearly and firmly, he gave his answer.
"I have no objections."
"The Revolutionary Army accepts the terms of cooperation."
Dragon paused for only a moment before continuing.
"We are willing to fight under the Eternal Divine Kingdom's command and work together to bring an end to the World Government's corrupt rule."
Every word rang clearly through the meeting room.
The decision had been made.