"Are you certain about this, Robin?"
Hancock, who held Robin close in her arms, whispered softly into Robin's ear. With her own legs, she could dodge any surprise attacks, and right after evading, she could turn most enemies to stone.
"Hmm?"
"That man could be considered your enemy, couldn't he?"
"...Yes."
For Robin, that island held memories that weren't entirely pleasant.
Where she had been placed, she was treated as a burden. Food and clothing were strictly rationed for her.
There were people who treated her like family.
The archaeologists who taught her many things, who were like family to her, existed. But even so, she had never once felt what could be called a 'home.'
"But I'm sure the Captain wouldn't like forcing people into unpleasant situations."
However, from the day she was discovered hiding in that empty barrel, she gained a home.
At first, it was aboard a ship that never stayed in one place.
Now, on the island they had all carved out together, there was a house they had all built together.
She would never forget Ohara's anguish, her homeland's resentment.
She would definitely find the other Poneglyphs and fulfill the dying wish of those who slept on that island. She would solve the mystery of the Void Century.
But at the same time, she wanted to align herself as much as possible with the wishes of the Captain who had protected her and given her a home and family.
She didn't want to force that kind man to do things he would hate.
"No, Robin. When the master judges someone as an enemy, he becomes thoroughly ruthless."
"Um, yes... that is true, but..."
"I agree. That man would neither let him live nor let him die, but would magnificently drain every drop from that man's life."
"Mihawk, go sew your mouth shut for a bit."
◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇
'Do we lack resolve?'
Ha! Five Elders, if you're willing to engage in conversation, then you've played right into my hands!
Microphone performance is the absolute foundation of agitation!!
"That's how it appears to my eyes."
'Your fearless nature hasn't changed, it seems. What exactly do you claim we lack?'
"Then let me ask you this. The 'world' as you see it, and the 'world' as the Navy sees it, are they truly the same thing?"
'...'
As I've told these bastards before, the World Government has a weakness. It's the fact that they keep missing opportunities to settle accounts.
"The World Government rules the world through three divisions."
I don't intend to split the World Government apart, but if this could serve as a check against the Celestial Dragons, the so-called World Nobles, then it might be worth poking at them a bit.
"The absolute class system between the World Nobles and everyone else, intentional and excessive discrimination against non-member nations, and the preservation of conflict factors between member nations."
Probably, even if I point out the problems, the World Government can't take action.
Unless they change the way the Celestial Dragons operate, they can't implement fundamental reforms.
And that's exactly what the World Government cannot do. Especially now.
I'll make you realize that this is your Achilles' heel!
"The first two I can somewhat understand. But that last point highlights your problem."
'Oh, that one?'
One of the Five Elders, I can't tell which one is speaking from just the voice, engages with the topic.
'Each member nation has its own reasons for membership. Are you suggesting we should use force?'
"But without some degree of intervention or external pressure, nations cannot easily change. That too is the nature of states."
'We don't believe it's something to interfere with lightly.'
"Then what meaning does the Reverie hold? How much has the World Government framework contributed to the mountain of problems that need solving? Can you proudly claim that?"
Don't tell me you've forgotten that I originally apprenticed at a merchant house!
I've always kept my antenna up and checked detailed information to determine action policies. I know the details of the last three or so Reveries quite well!
Our trading company had dealings with the royal family of the Goa Kingdom, and if I flattered them a little, they'd spill all the internal details. I had also conducted various interviews with other royal families in the East Blue and analyzed the results, never thinking I'd use that information in this way!
"To maintain the Celestial Dragons as absolute beings, you intentionally create discriminated classes, establish the Heavenly Tribute to weaken member nations' power, and preserve seeds of conflict to make them fight each other. Isn't this the World Government's policy?"
Divide and Conquer is such a basic tactic, or rather...
"That's why countermeasures for member nations are always delayed. Because fundamentally, the World Government treats member nations as nothing more than buffer zones that double as production sites to protect the Holy Land."
Twenty years from now, Crocodile or that damn sunglasses bastard might pull the same obvious trick.
I'm essentially targeting pirates and the mafia in a similar way.
...
Hey, say something!
I don't just want to unilaterally paint you as the bad guys!
Kuzan, Hina, stop grinding your teeth!
"And that itself is not evil. It is not evil."
There are unavoidable aspects to this!!
"No matter what those who don't bear the burden might say, a nation's greatest duty is its survival. This is an unchangeable truth."
'You bastard...'
"If we assume the World Government is the nation-state of the Celestial Dragons, everything fits. The ancestors of the current World Nobles, the Celestial Dragons, who overcame what appears to have been some kind of conflict during the Void Century, must have been exhausted as well. So they took measures for survival. They created a larger collective and used it as their shell."
In reality, building a world this convenient for the Celestial Dragons... well, I suppose it involved acts that could be called evil. This is the One Piece world, after all.
Ah yes, that's what I think. I think so... but it was also truly a great achievement.
With my knowledge limited to around the time of arriving at Wano Country, and much of it hazy, combined with my actual experience living here, I can only say it's amazing that they've maintained some degree of order in this violent world for 800 years, even if they're partly responsible for that violence.
Whether there were better methods available can only be judged in hindsight.
I cannot deny these 800 years that have indeed saved some people.
"That's fine. But they've come this far without modifying those survival strategies to match the times over the long years. The gap between the 'world' as the Government sees it and the 'world' as member nations, and by extension the Navy, see it grows larger with each passing year."
Incidentally, it's probably this gap that gave birth to pirates who could no longer tolerate either Government control or exploitation of non-member nations.
Before the story of One Piece began circulating, that must have been the main type of pirate.
'...That's mere speculation.'
"Then why was the Government's aid so delayed this time?"
'We focused our efforts on minimizing the spread of damage.'
"While weighing that against the predicted expansion of revolution and piracy?"
'In fact, the damage has been kept much smaller than anticipated.'
"I wonder if the Marines will be satisfied with those words?"
'...Public sentiment follows results.'
"Indeed, you have a point there."
We're the ones producing results, though!
Well, sorry Five Elders, but if there are no rebuttals, I'll push through with this assumption.
Theatrical politics is really a contest of impact and performance.
You carelessly let me onto the stage. I won't hold back in my attacks.
Besides, to create an opportunity for both the Government and Navy to find common ground, even if this assessment is off target, we first need a story that the Navy, in their subordinate position, can at least somewhat accept.
"The Navy upholds justice, and new recruits join seeking that justice, or perhaps seeking stability."
Those recruits, though newcomers, are still soldiers.
"And normally, those who should be in training are counted as manpower and deployed in situations like this. Deployed... and some fall."
'...That's true. Even new recruits are soldiers if they enlist. They fought admirably.'
"Yes."
That's right, they all fought admirably. They're still fighting.
I'm glad the Five Elders acknowledged this. If they had treated it as a matter of course, it would have taken effort to correct.
"During the first attack by the pirate alliance, seven new recruits from the 178th Base, which was responsible for the waters near Mogwa... seventy-eight in total became casualties."
I handled the recovery, restoration, and funeral arrangements for the Marines who died on the first day, but nothing was more unpleasant.
There's that Navy song... what was it called, "Uminoshirube" I think.
A young Marine who must have been their contemporary sang it while crying...
Kuzan had such a pained expression too.
"As you're also aware, in the West Blue alone, we've had 836 casualties and 1,329 seriously wounded as of today."
Private Hyland was killed by pirates hiding in wait while transporting supplies on a recaptured island. Second Class Private Dale, son of Colonel Teria, fell during the defense of Area A. The unit from the 231st Base under Colonel Marinoa was sunk before reinforcements could arrive.
Private Kelpy, Sergeant Karelia, Rear Admiral Schnauzer, Private First Class Kelly, Second Class Private Kubars...
Among them were soldiers whose families went missing in this chaos, yet who continued fighting as Marines.
"Whether new recruits or veterans, they suppress their fear and stand on the battlefield, accepting any order from the state, swallowing both the pure and the corrupt."
'What are you trying to say? So far, your view of the military doesn't seem different from ours.'
"Don't you understand?"
'...Ah.'
"That's precisely why. That's precisely why a governing structure that orders its military, its soldiers, to throw away their lives cannot be permitted to falsify its foundations."
◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇
(He hasn't changed. He hasn't changed at all, Kuro.)
The man who had once opposed him remained exactly the same as during their first encounter in that hidden warehouse.
(Ah, I see. Those girls who were mere merchandise back then, they saw this back at that time.)
If anything had changed, it was his perspective.
That day, the young pirate who had kicked up the cannonball his subordinates had fired and faced him was now turning his back on them, confronting the World Government in the distance, no, confronting something enormous.
"There may be times when you move troops without explaining much. It's natural to limit information to prevent doubt."
(Those girls will become soldiers in these six months. Seeing this...)
Even the subordinates who ultimately didn't move from here swallowed hard and couldn't look away from the pirate's back.
No, they had become unable to look away.
"Whether it's a righteous operation that upholds justice, or a disgusting operation that makes you sick to your stomach, soldiers must pledge loyalty to the military organization, and military organizations to the governing structure, carrying out the orders they receive."
"No matter how unreasonable and pathetic those orders may be, soldiers steel their resolve and head to deadly battlefields."
"They take up weapons, risk their lives to go to sea. Suppressing complaints and dissatisfaction, with resolve they go to kill people and to be killed by people."
'The enemy consists of bandits and criminals. What problem is there?'
"No, they're people. While soldiers may temporarily forget this, while armies may swallow this truth... there's nothing more fragile than an army that continues to lie about it."
The Marines too watched Kuro without moving.
Even those who probably couldn't hear his voice couldn't take their eyes off the pirate called Kuro.
"Soldiers steel their resolve and suppress everything to protect the world. But the governing structure giving those orders piles lie upon lie. The gap between the world the World Government shows and the world the Navy believes in grows enormous."
"Then what are soldiers supposed to face the terror of pirates for?"
"What did those who fell on the battlefield die for?"
Hina, a soldier around Kuro's age, was also looking at Kuro with different eyes than before.
"A governing structure that allows lies in that sacred duty cannot be right, and a governing structure that doesn't try to correct this lacks the resolve to govern."
"Five Elders, I want to ask you something."
"Can you proudly say that the current Navy has justice?"
"Can you declare with certainty that they're not just convenient pawns for the Government?"
"In the hearts of the Marines who risk their lives on missions..."
"Does pride shine...!"
◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇
(Ah...)
Admiral Kizaru's mission in the West Blue was to escort supplies to rescue the people of the West Blue.
And another was to see the 'Black Cat' with his own eyes.
(This is...)
The Marines around him weren't moving, as if frozen solid.
(This is... not good...)
He was certain.
If he was going to kill him, it had to be now.
There was no other time to kill this pirate.
After all, Marines were suddenly collapsing one after another on the spot. Several soldiers from the mafia and pirates were also losing consciousness and falling.
The reason the Marines, mafia, and pirates hadn't noticed was because everyone couldn't take their eyes off the man called Kuro.
(The Government would never acknowledge that pirate...)
If he didn't kill him now, he would become an enormously large obstacle to the Navy, and by extension, the Government.
No, I misspoke.
This was the last chance.
The swordsman and vice-admiral protecting Nico Robin, the Devil of Ohara, had been sending faint killing intent his way for some time.
From the moment he unconsciously tensed his fingertips upon witnessing a fragment of Kuro's power, the 'Marine Hunter' had been constantly wary of him while casually chatting with Nico Robin and another girl pirate.
Daz Bones didn't seem to notice to that extent, but he wasn't letting his guard down either.
If he attacked Kuro, the 'Marine Hunter' would block his first strike, and then Daz Bones would quickly rally the other 'Black Cat' soldiers for battle.
'Of course. The Navy stands under justice, and there's no room for argument on that point.'
Meanwhile, the conversation continued.
A dialogue between a single pirate and the Five Elders, something that had probably never happened in history.
At the Five Elders' words, the pirate's lips curved slightly in a grin, as if he'd been waiting for exactly this response.
"So the only problem is the discrepancy with the Navy, but you've been missing opportunities to address it?"
'That's correct.'
"I see, my apologies for the misunderstanding. In that case, I humbly have a proposal, if you'll permit me..."
'Very well, let's hear it.'
"If there are discrepancies in our mutual understanding, and because of this we're missing opportunities for better cooperation, wouldn't a third party mediator solve the problem?"
'...Don't tell me, you...'
"I would like to formally request a meeting with representatives of the Government and representatives of the Navy."
The pirate made this outrageous proposal with the most casual expression.
"If you'll accept this, then as a third party, this 'Silent Step' Kuro will disarm himself and surrender alone to Mariejois."
Despite proposing what would normally be tantamount to suicide,
"What do you say?"
The pirate 'Black Cat' wore a smile of certain victory.
***
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