"The Army serves as the World Government's primary force against the Revolutionary Army and for suppressing non-allied nations, with combat capabilities matching Marine Headquarters."
Silence fell over the assembled pirates as Katakuri finished speaking.
They stared wide-eyed at the projections, minds reeling from the revelations.
"No wonder the Revolutionary Army hasn't been able to conquer those allied nations - they've been fighting the Army this whole time."
"Hiss... when you look at it this way, isn't the World Government's true strength alarmingly excessive? And what about the CP?"
Listening to the murmurs, Katakuri smiled.
"No one knows their true capabilities. But everyone's familiar with CP - even among those masked agents lurk many unknown powerhouses."
"You mean Rob Lucci?" a pirate captain asked curiously.
"Of course not." Katakuri shook his head. "Do you know why the Navy and Army don't simply execute powerful criminals, but instead imprison them?"
"Control?" Crocodile suddenly interjected with a grim tone.
Katakuri laughed, "Exactly! The World Government either forcibly controls or makes agreements with these powerful criminals to utilize them. Among them, one masked powerhouse known to Totto Land possesses combat prowess no less than an admiral. His name is Otto, a user of the Crocodile Fruit, with a bounty of 270 million berries before his imprisonment."
"Emperor Crocodile Otto? That's the ruthless man who single-handedly destroyed three countries over twenty years ago!"
A pirate exclaimed in shock, clearly stunned by Katakuri's words.
"Kishishishi, I know this guy. It's said he was captured by the Marine hero Garp and locked up in Impel Down," Moria chuckled.
"And he's just one of the few I know. Even if they control just one percent of the criminals they've captured, the resulting force would be terrifyingly formidable."
"Not to mention, there's that so-called world's greatest scientist, Vegapunk. The Pacifistas were his creation—I'm sure everyone felt their impact during the war. And the latest new weapon, the Seraphim Special Unit, is claimed to completely surpass the Pacifistas, boasting overwhelming combat power against pirates, soon to be deployed!"
After Katakuri finished speaking, the pirates could directly sense the immense pressure emanating from the World Government.
Think back—when they roamed the seas, even if they encountered Marines, they felt no fear.
They'd kill if they could, flee if they couldn't, with no reverence whatsoever.
Their impression of the World Government was simple:
A bunch of snot-nosed trash Celestial Dragons, manipulating a puppet regime under their ancestors' shadow.
A gaunt pirate captain suddenly stood up, nervously saying, "I know another general of the Army—his name is Floyd, a user of the Titanoboa Zoan. He hails from the New World's Vandia Kingdom, formerly the kingdom's strongest guard captain. He's even my fellow countryman. He's strong—monstrously strong. Oh, and he's apparently a hybrid of giant and human, exceptionally tall."
"Hmm? Floyd? Wororororo, I know him. He once challenged me."
At this moment, Kaido, seated in the second row, suddenly spoke up.
Ganzui, dozing beside him, was startled awake, looking around in confusion.
Katakuri's eyes lit up.
"He challenged Uncle Kaido? What was the outcome?"
Kaido crossed his arms, proudly declaring, "Naturally, he lost. But the guy's slippery—I couldn't kill him."
"Slippery?"
Everyone was baffled.
Slippery? What the hell did that mean? Oily?
"I mean he's slick. When you punch him, his body just slides around, hard to hit. Even Haki can slide right off."
Another wave of murmurs spread among the pirates.
Yet another top-tier powerhouse who challenged Kaido and survived, personally acknowledged by him.
Gin, whose injuries had long healed, smirked darkly.
"If the World Government's forces are this strong, why hasn't the Revolutionary Army been wiped out yet?"
"Because the Revolutionary Army's power is equally fearsome!"
With a wave of Katakuri's hand, the projection instantly changed.
The screen now displayed a motley crew of individuals, each with bizarre and varied appearances, looking utterly chaotic.
"As shown in the diagram, the Revolutionary Army has many capable individuals from various races. They are highly inclusive, unlike the World Government, whose elite forces consist solely of humans."
Katakuri pointed to each person in the image as he introduced them.
"The leader of the Revolutionary Army—his abilities are already known. He is a Logia-type Wind-Wind Fruit user, overwhelmingly powerful. I don't need to elaborate on his strength; just equate him directly to Fleet Admiral Akainu, if not stronger! Because he also possesses an immensely powerful Conqueror's Haki!"
"The second-in-command of the Revolutionary Army, the 'Flame Emperor' Sabo. During the Reverie, he confronted Marine Admirals Fujitora and Ryokugyu alongside the four army commanders."
"Bartholomew Kuma—already modified by Vegapunk and has lost his consciousness."
"Emporio Ivankov, the Hormon-Hormon Fruit user, whose strength is nothing to scoff at."
"Additionally, their forces number in the millions, all battle-hardened and exceptionally formidable."
"At the same time, the Revolutionary Army harbors at least two or more Admiral-level combatants who have long clashed with the World Government's Army Admirals."
"Then... what about us pirates?" asked a cautious pirate with a forked hairstyle.
His name was Foxy the Silver Fox, captain of a pirate crew that had entered the New World alongside the Warhammer Pirates.
His ability was the Slow-Slow Fruit, allowing him to fire beams that drastically reduced his enemies' speed.
Katakuri silently gave this perceptive fellow a nod of approval.
He had been waiting for someone to ask—it was the perfect setup for a stark comparison.
Katakuri smiled and replied, "As for pirates, just look around this very gathering, and the situation becomes clear."
"The pirate world does have no shortage of top-tier fighters, creating a semblance of balance against the World Government. But in terms of sheer numbers, we're outmatched by over tenfold."
"And most crucially, their forces can be replenished indefinitely, whereas we pirates have no reserve forces. The total number of pirates across the seas barely exceeds a million."
"Of that, over sixty percent are still in waters outside the New World, their strength far from adequate."
"As you can all see, the gap between us and the World Government or the Revolutionary Army is vast. And right now, we're not a unified force but hundreds—if not thousands—of scattered factions."
"Consider this: if we allow the Marines to pick us off one by one, our footholds in the New World will only dwindle further."
"Once they're confident enough, who's to say the World Government won't mobilize all three branches of their military to wipe us out in one sweeping strike?"