Chapter 335

Translator: PapaSmurf0700

By "Big News" Morgans:

Citizens of the world, you are welcome. You are about to read another masterpiece, delivered free of charge, from yours truly at the World Economic Journal.

Three days. It has taken three entire days since the conclusion of the Summit War to deliver this report. Why the delay? Because the sheer volume of information was so staggering, so complex, that untangling it all nearly cost me my magnificent plumage.

But every feather sacrificed was worth it. Because what I am about to tell you is the absolute, unvarnished truth of this war.

When I first began sorting through the chaos, I believed, as you likely did, that this war was ignited when Blackbeard defeated Portgas D. Ace and handed him over to the Marines. I thought the Marines were the story's protagonists, the dominant force shaping events.

I was wrong. Utterly and completely wrong.

When I looked deeper, pulling the timeline further and further back, a terrifying picture emerged. This was no simple war. This was a grand conspiracy, meticulously orchestrated by the remnants of the Roger Pirates and the Revolutionary Army, with the Straw Hat Pirates at its very center—a plan with roots stretching back more than twenty years.

This was not a wave that merely rocked the Marines, the World Government, or even the Four Emperors. This was a tsunami, and it is about to wash over the entire world.

Now, let us unravel the threads. To understand the full, breathtaking scope of this conspiracy, we must go back twenty-two years.

[Note: The following is the analysis and educated speculation of "Big News" Morgans, President of the World Economic Journal.]

Before Gol D. Roger, the Pirate King, chose to surrender and disband his legendary crew, he made one last, world-shattering move. He created the myth of the great treasure, the One Piece. And with his final words, he used that unseen, unproven treasure to ignite the Great Pirate Era.

Roger sought to carve a new path for the world out of chaos. To this day, many condemn his actions. They see the era he birthed as one defined by sin and bloodshed.

But! And I must insist on this "but."

Roger, a pirate to his very core, knew exactly what kind of hell he was unleashing. And so, he left behind two safeguards for the world he was leaving.

Or rather, two people.

Two former apprentice crew members of the Roger Pirates: "Red-Haired" Shanks and "Joker" Buggy.

After their captain's death, these two men embarked on the missions Roger had given them. Shanks ascended to the throne of Emperor in record time and, through methods no one fully understands, has dedicated himself to maintaining a fragile balance on the seas—simultaneously weakening the grip of the World Government while minimizing the loss of innocent life.

Buggy, meanwhile, vanished into the East Blue, hiding his true power and living the life of an ordinary, low-level pirate. From my perspective, Buggy was Roger's contingency plan. If, for some reason, Shanks was unable to continue his mission, Buggy would have risen just as swiftly to take his place as an Emperor.

Regardless, their shared mission was clear: find the person Roger was waiting for.

By now, you have surely connected the dots. The one chosen by both Shanks and Buggy, the one on whom they wagered their own fates, was the Straw Hat boy—Monkey D. Luffy.

Shanks gave Luffy the sacred straw hat, inherited from Roger himself, and even sacrificed an arm to set the boy on his path. Buggy, in his own way, tested Luffy shortly after he set sail, later providing him with Roger's own notes on Haki—a gift that enabled the Straw Hat crew's meteoric growth. He was even willing to be thrown into Impel Down to gather more allies for Luffy's cause.

Now, let us turn our attention from Roger's legacy to the Revolutionary Army.

It is now public knowledge that Monkey D. Dragon, the World's Most Wanted Man, is Luffy's father. But as the Priest, Bai Ye, declared to Fleet Admiral Sengoku during the war, the Revolutionaries did not choose Luffy because of blood ties. It was not Dragon who chose Luffy; it was the ideal of the revolution itself that chose him.

For years, the revolutionary efforts across the world seemed like little more than child's play. They were smeared by the World Government, yes, but the truth is, their actions rarely made the world a better place. The nations they "liberated" often fell into even greater chaos.

But then came the Alabasta Incident. After that, the Revolutionary Army began to change.

I can now exclusively reveal that the "Straw Hat Pirates Special Edition" report, which spread like wildfire and damaged the credibility of the World Government, was compiled and distributed by the Revolutionary Army. It seems that even then, they had recognized something unique in the way the Straw Hats brought true liberation.

Still, they did not pin all their hopes on the boy just yet. In the Florian Triangle, high-ranking Revolutionary officer Bartholomew Kuma and Chief of Staff Sabo met with the Straw Hats in person. [Note: This meeting occurred after the Enies Lobby incident and before the events on Sabaody. This is an exclusive report.]

Perhaps it was that meeting. Perhaps it was the sheer audacity of the Straw Hats declaring war on the world. Whatever the reason, it was then that the Revolutionary Army made its final, decisive choice.

And that choice led directly to the [Joint Statement of the Revolutionary Army and the Kingdom of Alabasta]—the very document that forced the Marines to abandon their pursuit of Blackbeard, to stand by and watch as he ripped the Marineford fortress from its foundations and stole it.

This statement is not complex. Its power lies in its devastating simplicity:

1. The Kingdom of Alabasta officially withdraws from the council of World Government member nations. It issues a severe condemnation of the World Government for its complicity in the recent auction of its citizens.

2. The Revolutionary Army accepts full responsibility for the wars ignited in member nations. It pledges to provide all possible assistance to those seeking true freedom.

3. The Revolutionary Army and the Kingdom of Alabasta announce a formal alliance. They hereby establish a new governing body: The Spark Alliance.

4. The Drum Kingdom, famed for its medical prowess, announces its withdrawal from the World Government and its entry into the Spark Alliance.

5. Water 7, the world's leader in shipbuilding, announces its withdrawal from the World Government and enters into a strategic partnership with the Spark Alliance.

6. A total of 89 non-affiliated nations across the four seas and the first half of the Grand Line officially announce they are joining the Spark Alliance.

7. Queen Nefertari Vivi of Alabasta, an initiator of the alliance, is named its first Chairperson. Dragon, former leader of the Revolutionary Army and co-initiator, is appointed Vice-Chairman.

8. The Revolutionary Army is hereby disbanded. A new, unified military force, drawing soldiers from all member nations of the Spark Alliance, will be established under the name: The Wildfire Army.