If she wanted to fight without anything holding her back, then she needed to be able to rid herself of any weaknesses that existed.
As she thought of such things, more ideas started to come to mind about what kind of direction she wished to take.
While she still wished to improve her speed and power further, she could not afford to neglect the aspects which could end up being her downfall later.
While a Devil Fruit of a certain type could end up helping to allow her to overcome such things and to gain certain advantages, it still ended up giving her a new weakness.
That was not the type of power she wished to gain, especially if it came with such a great fatal flaw.
One wrong move could end up becoming her downfall, even if she did end up gaining overwhelming power through eating one.
That was why she was still searching for alternative solutions that did not come with such a great weakness.
Una stepped over the flames and activated her powers briefly, allowing her to regain control over them.
They extinguished in an instant, which showcased another aspect of her ability related to flames, where she could control and extinguish them under her manipulation.
Even if she spread her flames, causing them to spread and cause destruction, they were still not so out of control that they could be allowed to keep spreading around without having a way to stop them.
They both moved toward the palace while the seven Holy Knights of Empirica stepped aside and followed further behind.
Upon entering the palace, Una ordered everyone to leave while she entered the main palace quarters along with Alyssia.
It was not long before they were both served food and drink as they sat opposite each other.
It was like they were both people who had gone through something big enough to show respect for one another and were able to put whatever was between them behind them as they shared a meal.
Una was less guarded as she stated. "I once had a crew member a little like you, but she died. How are the Mink tribe these days? Can you tell me why you came to this island? Why are you butting into things between my sister and me?"
She had many questions that had yet to be answered.
She was feeling nostalgic about the past, but she had to think about the current situation as well.
Even if Alyssia did remind Una of her old comrade, she was still an unknown person who had arrived on Empirica and had meddled in certain matters.
If it were not for the battle that had taken place and had shown Alyssia's character, along with many other things, then perhaps the way Una treated her would have been much different, even if Alyssia had spared her life once the battle was over.
Alyssia continued digging into the food while responding. "Mm... not bad. So you must share a connection to the Mink tribe, or you must have some time in the past. They are doing quite well, but their situation has not changed much over a long time.
I do not know what it was like during the time you knew them, but their place in the world is not too good. We mostly isolate ourselves in our homeland, but some of us take the risk of journeying out to sea.
As for me... I could be considered a unique case in certain ways, but I should probably answer your other questions that you are more eager to know."
She stopped herself from rambling on about herself and the Mink tribe before taking another bite of the food.
She couldn't help but think that the food was quite simple in many ways, but the quality was excellent.
She could tell that the ingredients were excellent, and they were all grown remarkably well.
It let her fully experience how she had seen many farmlands and places where all kinds of things were being grown on the lands within Empirica.
They may not have been developed like other places, but they did have one strength, and that was agriculture.
Whenever Alyssia was looking around, investigating everything, she rarely ever saw underweight people, just as the streets seemed to be without signs that there were homeless people or classes of slaves within Empirica.
Alyssia was a little absorbed in what she had been eating, but managed to snap herself out of it to return to the topic.
She coughed before speaking up. "I am a Warlord of the Sea. This title grants me certain privileges, but it comes with being a subordinate of the World Government. I do not know if you know of them, with you being isolated for so long, so I will be brief.
They are the bigshots within the world, and they are in charge. I had been tasked with coming here and reporting what I had found."
She thought it was best to be honest, even if she got a negative reaction.
Her gaze remained on Una as she explained, so she caught the tensing of Una's body as if she had provoked her.
One wrong word could likely end up with another fight, as Una would put her life on the line to prevent her from leaving.
Alyssia took another bite before speaking openly and plainly. "But... I do not intend to be their obedient puppet. I will do my part, but only enough of what has been asked of me. What I report is up to me. I doubt you understand the outside world much, but I will clue you in."
Alyssia ended up going over the basics of how the world worked and how Empirica was viewed as such a dangerous island that nobody dared to visit, but the World Government were very curious about it.
She went on to tell Una how it was likely that attempts had been made over a long time to gain information, but anyone sent there had never returned or reported back.
Finally, she had gotten to the final question, which she began to answer. "Now that I have told you about the world, I should tell you why I interfered with you and your sister. It was merely out of curiosity at first, but I have come to believe that things can be changed.
I am not going to preach to you about rights and freedom here. You must have had your reasons when you first did what you did. Perhaps that was the only decision you could make back then, but now?
Is it just that you think it is still best to keep her contained or hidden? Or is it that you are too stubborn to admit that you were wrong and too scared that by releasing her, she will leave you, and the very thing you feared will end up happening?"
Once a decision was made, even if it was the wrong one that came with regrets and costs, people tended to keep telling themselves that it was the best and only decision they could make under those circumstances.
That would only make them dig in deeper, as they would be less willing to admit that they were wrong, and they would cling to that belief.
They would keep telling themselves that they were in the right, and that would be how they would continue to maintain things.
In many ways, that was how they would get themselves stuck in a cycle or pattern that could end up trapping them in how they would make their decisions from then on.
They would make many decisions that would be influenced by that kind of belief.
If they kept having to make all kinds of difficult decisions, then it could be much worse, as the guilt and responsibility would eat away at them.