The World Government's memory has always been rather poor.
For example, after Luffy punched a Celestial Dragon, he only went quiet for two years.
When he reappeared, the World Government seemed to have forgotten all about it.
Imu spends all day researching how to extinguish lights, but has never actually extinguished anyone.
Crossing out a picture is enough to put the matter behind them.
The situation after Onigashima was the same.
Even though they knew Luffy had awakened the Nika Devil Fruit, the Gorosei were still discussing it.
And then… there was no "then." After the discussion, they seemed to have forgotten about it.
Another example: even though Teach looked very much like Rocks and had been seen at God Valley back then,
the Gorosei still allowed him to become a Shichibukai, completely failing to remember who he was.
So, even if the Rosward family truly clashed with the Revolutionary Army, at most, the Marine would send out an Admiral to symbolically go through the motions.
However, once such a situation occurs, the Revolutionary Army's anti-World Government sentiment will intensify further.
When Black wants to ignite the conflict between the two, it will also become much easier.
After wandering around Area 16 of the Sabaody Archipelago and failing to buy the mermaid compatriots he promised Ada, Black was a bit unhappy.
But thinking about it, it was normal.
Mermaid girls are relatively rare Slaves; meeting one last time was pure luck.
He also didn't encounter any Slaves like Mandy or Stella, who could catch Black's eye, on Slave Street.
Black returned to Mary Geoise sullenly and began his decadent and indulgent life.
The first thing he did was to settle the Trafalgar family.
Besides the Celestial Dragons, Mary Geoise also has many World Government staff and their families.
So Black didn't need to house them in his own estate.
He then threw all the remaining snipers and helmsmen of the Hyena Pirates into the Slave gladiator arena.
Black sat in the third-floor box reserved for World Nobless, sipping red wine and watching the battle below.
Perona, beside him, was fiddling with the mechanisms in the box.
These mechanisms were naturally not prepared for the Celestial Dragons.
Perona pressed a button:
A jar was thrown into the arena through a pipe from the box.
With a bang, the jar exploded, and red smoke splattered into the eyes of the two Slaves who were dueling.
"Ah!"
Immediately, two screams simultaneously erupted from the arena.
Perona giggled, leaning over the railing, watching the duel in the arena with great interest.
That's right, the private rooms on the third floor had mechanisms that could throw items into the arena.
Not only childish items like chili powder, but also various weapons, and even ordinary Animal-type Devil Fruits.
These perverted members of Black's own kind were no longer satisfied with simple Slave duels; they wanted more fun.
Only when both individuals thrown into the arena were killed by other Slaves did Black signal for everyone to leave.
Every time he returned to Mary Geoise, he would bring the women to experience the life of the upper class.
This could subtly change their way of thinking… Upon returning to the estate, Black led Mandy to the training ground:
"Come, let me see your current strength."
Mandy didn't hesitate this time, drawing her sword and thrusting.
Black's palm was wrapped in Armament Haki, and he casually parried.
After a brief exchange, Black motioned for Mandy to stop and nodded:
"Your current strength is no less than that of an ordinary Marine Vice Admiral."
Ever since he gave the ability card to Mandy, her strength had been changing almost daily, with an improvement rate that could be called 200 times the effort.
It wasn't until Sky Island that Mandy finally became proficient in using her abilities.
She wouldn't be like she was in the Moonlight Circus Kingdom, where she clearly had Haki against those without it, but couldn't even hit anyone.
Mandy, who had fully integrated her Master Swordsman Level Swordsmanship, could truly unleash her full strength.
Looking at Mandy, who was slightly out of breath, the cool armor caught the beads of sweat dripping from her chin.
Black raised an eyebrow, walked closer, and gently stroked her cheek with one hand:
"In the blink of an eye, you've been by my side for almost three years."
"Your Highness…"
Mandy looked up, following his movement, but her heart trembled when she met the fervent gaze in Black's eyes.
Black placed his finger on the scar at Mandy's temple, gently stroking the mark that had been carved into the World Government emblem:
"You're getting more and more beautiful."
His finger slid down her neck, colliding with the metal armor with a crisp clang, and the buckles of her knight armor opened in response.
A breeze passed through the high platform of the training ground, carrying the scent of tuberose and sweeping away the last piece of her breastplate.
Mandy suddenly pressed down on Black's hand, her armored glove rubbing against his silk cuff with a rustling sound.
Sunlight filtered through the trees, casting dappled shadows that shattered into specks of light on Mandy's eyelashes.
"Don't worry."
The soft voice and reassuring words made Mandy slowly close her eyes.
Her usually icy face was now tinged with a blush.
It was winding into a soft curve along her exposed shoulder line.
The distant clock tower chimed the hour, and a rapier fell to the ground, startling the perching nightingales.
Black's leaning posture paused at an ambiguous angle, and the silk lining of Mandy's armor entwined with his gilded cufflink.
The blue sand in the training ground's hourglass suddenly accelerated its descent, casting two shadows into a blurred silhouette… Meanwhile, a major event also occurred in the Marine.
Originally, with Sengoku's succession as Fleet Admiral, the iron wall remaining in Mary Geoise, and Zephyr's retirement to become an instructor, the Marine suddenly had no Admiral available to be dispatched.
Until today, in the plaza of Marineford, Sakazuki became the new Marine Admiral.
His codename was Akainu.
"The Marine does not need weak justice!"
"From today onwards, my fist will be the measure of order, and the wails of pirates will prove this point."
"Those scoundrels who shout 'freedom,' I will burn their flags with magma."
"Those traitors who sympathize with criminals, the muzzles of the military court are waiting for you."
Sakazuki stood on the podium, sneering:
"Justice is the ruins after cannon fire, the smell of blood on the execution platform."
"Ohara was like this, Marineford is like this, and every island that dares to challenge the government in the future—will be like this."
"Give up your mercy, and take on my wrath."
"Either survive under absolute justice, or rot in magma."
Below, the hawkish Marines who also adhered to "Absolute Justice" roared in agreement.
Meanwhile, the dovish Marines led by Garp and Kuzan frowned, their expressions somewhat displeased.
Especially—
Sakazuki's rapid promotion to Admiral, besides his own strength, was largely due to the "loyalty" he displayed during the Buster Call on Ohara, which greatly pleased the Gorosei.
However, Vice Admiral Kuzan, who was also responsible for executing the Buster Call, was not nominated by the Gorosei.
The Ohara Buster Call incident was precisely the catalyst for Aokiji's shift from "Burning Justice" to "Lazy Justice."
It was at this moment that the seeds of division within the Marine were sown.