From the Roots

Abby directed me to a private room where I could change into something a little more fitting for my role. We were officially at war with the World Government, and it was about time that I start taking control of my army.

When I stepped out of the room, some had already arrived. Each had a variety of mutations, but I could tell their original race, from Mink to Human, and even the occasional Fishman.

The last four to arrive were the ones I looked forward to seeing the most. Leana hadn't changed at all as I saw her take the serum. Cal towered over all the other humans besides me, in the room, and most Mink and Fishman. I attributed her growth to the fact she stood on her toes like an antelope or deer. The point was emphasized by the pair of goat horns that grew from her forehead.

Robin looked to be human on the surface, but three small slits under her eyes hinted at Robin's hidden nature. I looked to Ace last, almost on the edge of my seat, waiting to see what transformation he had undergone to create a miniature blue sun.

However, my excitement deflated as the only change I could see was the blue hue to his hair. I was brought out of my depression as Leana jumped at me, and I opened my arms to catch, "Soren, you're finally awake."

I smiled, "Sorry about leaving you all out here to fend for yourselves." As I stepped back, Cal pulled me in for a long kiss that I happily returned, almost losing myself for a second until someone cleared their throat.

Cal stepped aside, and I greeted Robin by hugging her before clasping forearms with Ace, "It's about time that you got off your lazy ass and joined the rest of us." Smirking, I didn't reply and turned to the rest of the room, "For once, I have to agree with Ace. I have been gone far too long. Abby has brought me, however, and first off, I want to thank all of you for fighting for the dream that we all want to see brought into reality."

I paused for a moment making eye contact with each person in the room before exhaling, "Unfortunately, there are those in the way of that dream, and lives will be lost. However, it is our job as leaders that we keep that number to a minimum. Now our original plan was to attack the Navy Headquarters, but that won't work anymore. The entire world will know that the Grand Line had been plunged into war. With all of this out in the open, we can't take them down in a single strike. This has turned into a battle of attrition, and right now, we are sorely behind. So we start from the bottom."

I walked over to the War map and pushed around the pieces to highlight specific areas, "We start from the bottom, hitting key bases. Stockpiles, trade routes, weapon supplies anything to cripple them."

Cal stepped forward then, "That will take too long. They have a near-infinite amount of resources. No matter how many trade routes we shut down, new ones will keep popping up." Thinking for a moment, I looked at the map intensely, "You have a point, but what if we can hit all of the major ones at once. We can shut down the entire market entirely for a few weeks at least, and afterward, prices will be sky high."

Leana shook her head, "That affects a lot more than just the World Nobles. A lot of people will go hungry and lose jobs." She had a good point, "Okay, then how about we start making donations, offering kingdoms help opening kitchens for people to eat for free." I looked around the room and saw varying looks of doubt, but no one spoke up in objection.

"Okay then, start sending out parties of five to looked for trade ships. Abby, can you get the memo out to R.A and Whitebeard?" The room lurched into motion as people started to send out the orders.

"Of course I can." Smiling, I pushed off the table, "That's perfect. This is the start of it all. Remember what we are fighting for!"

Over the next few weeks, we avoided the World Government, and my plan had gone well. After attacking a few well-known ports under the government's control, the market came to a grinding halt. As Leana predicted, there was a panic, and many started to lose jobs. Still, soon a restaurant bearing the name Revolution opened on nearly every Island with a population of more than ten thousand.

The newspapers were having a field day; however, two sides soon appeared, one in support of us and those who painted us as terrorists. The ones on our side quickly disappeared as the World Government started to crack down on people.

Which only made people more aware of the tyranny they were living under. It was a strange domino effect. People started to remember long-forgotten accidents that happened and if they were so clear-cut in the first place.

The World Government panicked and made the dumbest decision. They started to deploy troops to the island along the grand line and even to the seas. It spread panic as people no longer trusted those who had ruled over them for such a long time.

With little or nowhere to go that only left people one place to go, the resistance made up of people like them wanted to make a change. People in our soup kitchens started to ask questions about how they could fight back.

A few were caught, but many more were directed my way to lead protests and refuse to pay taxes all further my goal to cripple the World Government.