What did you do to my hat?
Nico Robin frowned slightly, picked up the cowboy hat and examined it for a few moments, but found nothing unusual except for the different color.
"Ah la la la la la!"
"Um, Robin."
"Although you don't really want to see my face or hear my voice, I still have to say it."
Before Rosen could speak, Kuzan, fearing that Nico Robin might act impulsively, or perhaps unaware of the value of the hat that Rosen had altered, quickly reminded her:
"If you really insist on continuing to search for the Poneglyphs, then you must keep them safe and secure."
"This hat contains the world's strongest Haki."
"It can protect you on your journey to find the truth of the world."
"Even when facing world governments."
He had heard that Rosen had sealed a wisp of Armament Haki into T Bone's sword, thus giving a branch Captain the power to fight against the world's strongest swordsman.
That's why.
Kuzan immediately realized that Rosen had been hiding Haki inside Nico Robin's cowboy hat.
"What's this?"
"As an admiral, will you atone for the sins committed by the Marines in the past?"
"Or compensation?"
Nico Robin gripped the cowboy hat tightly in her hand, staring at Rosen expressionlessly.
She couldn't accept it.
The entire city of Ohara was completely wiped out from the West Blue by the bombardment of the Marine Buster Call.
And those scholars.
Civilians fleeing the disaster.
Everything was burned to ashes.
In the end, all they changed was this one hat?
"In the Ohara incident, the Marines played the role of the butcher, and the World Government played the role of the one wielding the knife. This is an indisputable fact. But what truly destroyed Ohara was the ambition of a group of people called scholars."
"Of course."
"You can call it a dream."
Faced with Nico Robin's pointed question, Rosen neither got angry nor answered.
"You're talking nonsense!"
"To reveal the truth of the world."
"What's wrong with that?"
Upon hearing this, Nico Robin was so excited that she immediately stood up.
"Revealing the truth about the world is not wrong in the eyes of Ohara's scholars, but in the eyes of the world government, it is a big mistake no matter when or where."
"As one of the most learned people in the world, they should know this very well."
"What consequences will touching the bottom line of the world government have on the island of Ohara and the ordinary people living on it?"
Rosen looked at the emotionally charged Nico Robin, his tone remaining calm:
"They knew it, but they did it anyway."
"They call it revealing the truth of the world, or pursuing dreams."
"So, do you think that ordinary people living in Ohara, who are not academics, want to know the truth about the world?"
"Are they willing to let a group of scholars gamble their lives and their hometowns on exploring history without their knowledge?"
These words were spoken.
Nico Robin's expression changed drastically.
"That's a fallacy."
"It's simply a way to shift the blame for the mistakes of the Marines and the World Government onto the academics."
She roared through gritted teeth.
"Look."
Upon hearing this, Rosen gestured for Nico Robin to look towards the sea ahead.
"What are you looking at?"
Although Nico Robin was furious, the disparity in strength made her choose to obey and look in the direction where Rosen was looking.
A sea king bursting out of the sea was seen frantically chasing Crocodile, who was bound by Haki threads and acted as bait.
Seeing this, she seemed to understand something.
"Knowing that sea kings eat people, why choose to provoke them?"
"If you don't have the ability to kill a Sea King, why choose to hunt it?"
"The Poneglyphs can shake the foundations of the World Government's rule. Touching them without cause is like taking away the offspring of a sea king that has just given birth."
"If you scholars of Ohara want to emulate the Revolutionary Army and overthrow the rule of the World Government, that's understandable. But that's not the case. The vast majority of you scholars are just doing archaeology."
"An archaeological expedition that risked the lives of everyone in Ohara."
Rosen said quietly.
"you."
Nico Robin opened her mouth as if to retort, but was interrupted by Rosen.
Nico Robin.
"I'm asking you."
"Before you become a scholar, do you want your mother or the Poneglyph?"
Rosen stumped Nico Robin.
"..."
Nico Robin slowly crouched down and sat back down on the ice.
At this moment, she could find no reason to refute it.
"It must be your mother."
"That's right, because the ordinary people who died in the Ohara incident thought the same thing. They didn't want to know the truth about the world; they just wanted to live in peace."
"However."
"A group of archaeologists who claimed to be exploring history raised the banner of dreams and ambitions, which angered the world government, leading to the descent of the Marine's sword."
Rosen stood up and looked at Nico Robin, whose eyes were brimming with tears:
"Honestly, if those archaeologists were to risk their lives to pursue the truth, I would admire them, but they took a huge gamble."
"They staked the lives of all the non-scholars in Ohara."
"Challenging the world order, regardless of success or failure, always comes at a price."
Rosen took the hat from Nico Robin's hand and put it on her head.
"Aren't the Marines and the government at fault?"
Nico Robin clenched her fists tightly, lowered her head and whispered, trying to hide her expression.
"Of course you're wrong."
"Otherwise, why do you think I'm standing in front of you?"
"The independence of the Marine Headquarters, which frees justice from the world government's order, is because I believe the world government is wrong."
"The reason I lifted the arrest warrant for you, allowing you to explore history and protect you in front of the World Government, is because I believe the Marines were wrong."
"Everything I just told you is to let you know the different roles played by the Marines, the government, academics, and civilians in the Ohara incident, so that you will hate them clearly."
This time, Rosen chose to answer Nico Robin directly, frankly admitting the Marine's mistakes:
"Although the Ohara incident happened 10 years before I joined the Marines, since I chose the Marines, I will bear the burden of everything the Marines have carried in the past."
"So, if you want to hate the Marines, then hate them; if you want to take revenge on the Marines, then take revenge."
"However, there is one thing I must remind you: dreams are a reality that only the strong have the right to talk about."
"If you want to stand against the Marines, you must be prepared to face me directly."
After saying that,
Rosen ignored Nico Robin and instead beckoned with his finger.
Pfft
Crocodile, who had been submerged in the sea countless times and hunted by sea kings countless times, was pulled back to the surface.
As the Haki threads tightened like a fishing line, Crocodile was pulled in front of him.
"Do you want to be the Marine's bait, or their hunting dog?"
"The choice is yours."
Crocodile.
As Rosen spoke, he took a pet collar out of his pocket and tossed it to Crocodile's feet.
"..."
Crocodile glared fiercely at Rosen at first, but after a moment, the ferocity on his face disappeared.
Seeing this, Rosen drew his Zanpakutō and casually slashed it.
Benihime opens it instantly.
Crocodile, whose limbs had been severed, had his hands and feet reconnected to his shoulders and upper thighs, and then completely stitched back together with thread-like marks.
Just like sewing hands and feet back onto a rag doll, the severed spine was also restored to its original state.
"One day, I will definitely kill you!"
"Rosen."
Crocodile stood up, gave Rosen a deep look, and the killing intent in his voice was so intense that even the waters of the four seas could not wash it away.
But after saying that, he bent down and picked up the collar from the ice, then put it around his neck.
Like Dracule Mihawk, who is also one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
Between death and survival, Crocodile chose the latter.
It's not that I'm afraid of dying, but that I want Rosen to pay the price.
Before that, he would wear a collar and act as a watchdog for the Marines.
…
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