Under a rain of shattered glass, Kizaru reappeared, his brown sunglasses askew. "How scary, I almost hit the wall~~"
The scene was a disaster. The tech crew scrambled to clean up the mess, sweat dripping from the director's forehead.
He watched the Admirals' chaotic "performances," silently praying that this would finally wrap up and help salvage the Marines' image.
It took more than a dozen takes before the filming finally concluded.
The last one up was Garp.
He strode over with his usual grin, casually munching on senbei. His eyes lit up the moment he saw the ten-layer stack of reinforced steel plates.
"Now this is what I'm talking about!" Garp laughed heartily as he swung his fist. Armament Haki instantly coated his arm.
BOOM—!!!
The steel plates were shredded like wet paper, and the shockwave didn't stop there. It blasted a five-meter-wide hole straight through the Marineford outer wall thirty meters away.
Chunks of stone rained down, but Garp only laughed louder. "Hahaha! Way more satisfying than punching sandbags!"
The director shakily raised his megaphone. "Next... up is the Navy Six Styles demonstration..."
His voice carried a heavy note of defeat. His eyes were filled with dread.
He already knew. The destructive power of these top brass was off the charts. A single slip-up could turn into a full-blown catastrophe.
That day's shoot was anything but smooth. It was everyone's first time filming, after all, and memorizing lines while doing pro-level combat poses wasn't exactly easy. Honestly, the fact they managed to get anything at all was a miracle.
Back in the editing room, the post-production team watched the shaky footage in dead silence, their expressions twitching uncontrollably.
Someone quietly added a disclaimer at the end of the final cut:
"Professional training. Do not imitate."
"Let's just hope this wins back some hearts," one of them muttered.
…
That night.
The Marines' high-budget promo video, This is the Marine!, was officially released!
The video opened with an eye-popping sequence showing off the three Admirals' Devil Fruit powers, followed by jaw-dropping footage of Garp demonstrating the Navy Six Styles, with registration hotlines and training base addresses tagged at the end.
The production quality was top-tier, filled with bombastic effects and soaring background music. It proudly declared Marine justice and strength to the world.
Sengoku was very pleased. He immediately pinned the video and ordered every Marine officer to repost it on their feeds.
This promo wasn't just for saving face—it was also key to attracting fresh blood to maintain peace across the seas.
The moment the video went live, with full-force Marine promotion, it unsurprisingly surged onto the trending charts!
Within minutes, it went viral. Likes skyrocketed. Comments exploded.
> "What the hell, Akainu's smile gave me nightmares!"
> "Even the Admirals are actors now. Kuzan reading lines is me during oral exams."
> "Life is tough, even Admirals gotta perform!"
> "The Navy Six Styles is cool and all, but Iron Body? Just standing there like a tank? LMAO."
The comment section was full of memes and sarcasm, but buried between the jokes were genuine voices of support:
> "Marine justice will never be late!"
> "Seeing the Admirals' power gave me goosebumps!"
> "I wanna join the Marines now. Navy Six Styles looks insane!"
> "Hope the Marines keep protecting peace on the sea."
Sengoku looked at the flood of responses on screen and let out a long sigh.
He knew this video had drawn plenty of mockery, but at least it caught attention.
"Looks like the promotion worked after all," he muttered softly, a touch of relief in his tone.
He turned to look at the night sky outside the window, silently wishing for a brighter future for the Marines.
But the peace didn't last.
Two hours later, the Neo Marines dropped a comparison video on their official account.
Left side: the Marine's over-the-top, special-effects-heavy promo.
Right side: raw footage of Zephyr personally training new recruits in basic hand-to-hand combat.
And a single caption beneath it all:
"Justice doesn't need performance."
Sengoku's face turned green.
He stared at the screen. Based on his understanding of Zephyr, the man would never do something like this on his own. There had to be someone behind the scenes pushing this.
"Damn it! These Shichibukai are seriously a plague! I need to report this to the Gorosei immediately—we have to abolish the Shichibukai!"
"As long as they exist, we'll never get new recruits!!"
The Neo Marines' video instantly detonated on TikTok.
Views skyrocketed. The comments section turned into a warzone.
> "The difference is night and day. Marines are filming sci-fi. Neo Marines are showing heart."
> "That shot of Zephyr training recruits hit me hard. This is real justice."
> "Justice doesn't need performance. That line hit me deep."
> "The Marines' promo looks like a blooper reel. Neo Marines are the real deal."
> "I support the Neo Marines. No gimmicks, just resolve."
The Neo Marines' video instantly racked up likes and shares, surpassing the Marines' and grabbing the top spot on the trending board.
People all over were moved by its simplicity and sincerity, rallying behind the Neo Marines and pledging their trust.
Sengoku stared at the soaring stats on screen and rubbed his throbbing forehead.
"…This promo didn't just fail to salvage our image—it ended up boosting the Neo Marines instead."
The rise of the Neo Marines… was now a runaway freight train.
…
On the vast open sea,
Sunlight glittered across the waves, casting shimmering reflections.
A massive Sea King cruised silently through the deep.
Atop its mountain-sized head, Ron lay sprawled on his back, a stalk of unknown seaweed lazily dangling from his lips.
The breeze brushed past, bringing a gentle chill. Ron squinted, basking in the rare moment of calm.
Ding—
His phone buzzed with a notification.
Ron lazily unlocked the screen and scanned the backend stats, raising an eyebrow. "99.98 million... just 20,000 away from 100 million."
A playful smirk curved his lips. He tossed the phone in the air and caught it with ease. "Looks like I'll be upgrading the system tomorrow. Kinda hyped for it."
Suddenly, the Sea King let out a low growl. Ron narrowed his eyes and gazed into the distance.
A pirate ship flying a skull flag was silently approaching from the horizon.
The pirates aboard were clutching harpoons, eyes gleaming with greed.
"Boss! A giant Sea King!" a one-eyed pirate shouted. "If we bag it, we can sell it for—"
Before he could finish, the lookout up in the crow's nest gasped. "Wait! There's someone on it!"
The whole crew raised their binoculars in unison.
And what they saw… was a black-haired man looking back at them, smiling—but not really smiling.
(To be continued.)