Tashigi's small heart was deeply shaken.
She pursed her lips tightly and gripped the hilt of Shigure at her waist.
Inside her heart, she kept warning herself again and again:
"So what if he's powerful?"
"At the end of the day, he's still a pirate… an enemy of justice!"
"I'm a Marine!"
"Even if I'm trapped in enemy territory right now, and even if that bad guy keeps bullying me, it still can't change my belief as a Marine!"
Tashigi was an incredibly stubborn girl.
At the same time—
she was also innocent, pure-hearted, and inexperienced with the real world.
In her eyes—
pirates represented evil.
The Marines and the World Government represented justice.
And upright people like herself existed to defend that justice.
But…
What exactly was true justice?
Tashigi had never seriously thought about that question before.
Which was why—
she was simply too naïve.
Too simple-minded.
Standing beside her, Momousagi clearly understood the simplistic thoughts running through Tashigi's mind.
Momousagi sighed softly in her heart.
Because once upon a time—
she too had firmly believed in the justice of the Marines and the World Government.
But ever since becoming an Admiral Candidate and gaining access to Mary Geoise—
Momousagi had come to understand something deeply:
Her past understanding of justice had been laughably shallow.
Completely wrong.
Those Celestial Dragons protected by the Marines and the World Government—
what kind of trash were they?
They captured people of every race and turned them into slaves.
When traveling—
they even rode on the backs of slaves like animals.
As for the lives of anyone who wasn't a Celestial Dragon—
they never cared in the slightest.
To them, everyone else was merely lowly creatures.
People like that—
were a hundred times worse than pirates.
Worse than beasts.
And yet—
the self-proclaimed righteous Marines risked their lives to protect the interests of those very scum.
Wasn't that kind of "justice" utterly ridiculous?
It was precisely because Momousagi had seen through all this—
that she never possessed the same fierce desire to resist Luo Xing as Tashigi did.
And now—
after becoming Luo Xing's woman—
she had fully decided to witness the future changes of the world from this new identity.
Tashigi was not only a little sister figure she had known back in the Marines—
she was now also her sister in another sense.
Momousagi felt it was necessary to broaden the naïve girl's understanding of the world.
Momousagi softly asked:
"Tashigi…"
"Do you know what this country used to be like?"
Tashigi, who had been busy reminding herself she was still a Marine, froze for a moment.
Then she replied blankly:
"Momousagi-sister… this is my first time here."
"How would I know what it used to be like?"
Momousagi gazed into the distance.
There—
groups of civilians were working hard in the fields.
She spoke calmly:
"This isn't my first time here."
"I once passed through this country while escorting Heavenly Tribute."
"What was it like before?" Tashigi asked curiously.
Momousagi answered quietly:
"The royal family here used to be cruel and tyrannical."
"In order to expand their military and pay the Heavenly Tribute, they completely ignored the lives of the citizens."
"Almost no one could eat their fill."
Tashigi's eyes widened in shock.
"It was that terrible?!"
Momousagi continued calmly:
"And because this country was officially affiliated with the World Government…"
"the Marines couldn't do anything to that royal family."
"On the contrary—"
"they had to do everything possible to protect them."
"How could that happen?!"
Tashigi exclaimed angrily.
"A rotten royal family like that should've been overthrown!"
"Overthrown by whom?"
Momousagi suddenly let out a cold laugh.
"Do you think starving civilians have the power to overthrow a kingdom?"
"And even if they somehow gained that power…"
"the royal family would immediately ask the World Government for military support."
"This country was a legitimate member nation of the World Government."
"The higher-ups who valued stability would never willingly allow a royal family to be replaced."
"When that happened…"
"the government would absolutely order the Marines to suppress the rebellion."
"And in the end—"
"everything would return to how it was before."
Momousagi's cold words left Tashigi completely stunned.
Her immature worldview suffered an unprecedented impact.
Her face turned pale.
Shaking her head repeatedly, she muttered:
"No…"
"That can't be right…"
"How could the government and the Marines help evil people like that?!"
Help evil people?
Heh.
The Celestial Dragons were the greatest villains in the world.
And the Marines, along with the World Government—
had always been helping them.
Momousagi gently patted Tashigi's shoulder and sighed softly:
"This…"
"is the real world."
"In countless countries across this sea…"
"the same structure exists."
"And this system…"
"has continued for eight hundred years."
Tashigi's body trembled violently.
"Look at those civilians farming over there."
Instinctively, Tashigi followed the direction Momousagi pointed.
"The smiles on their faces…"
"are genuine."
"Because they obtained the Super Seeds invented by Luo Xing…"
"and those miraculous multifunctional Cybertronian robots."
"They can finally see hope for a future where they won't starve anymore."
"That's why they're smiling now."
Luo Xing's conquest of the North Blue wasn't merely about defeating kingdoms militarily.
He also needed to rebuild the region and win the hearts of the people.
The Super Seeds and multifunctional Cybertronians—
which had already been widely introduced in Wano Country—
played an enormous role in that effort.
The civilians who finally saw hope of having enough food to eat—
welcomed the arrival of the Beasts Pirates with overwhelming joy.
As for the royal families that had once sucked them dry—
the people had already forgotten about them completely.
One could say that—
while the Beasts Pirates conquered the North Blue—
they also completely won over the hearts of its people.
Momousagi looked toward Luo Xing in the distance and slowly concluded:
"It's still impossible to determine whether that man…"
"and the Beasts Pirates…"
"are truly good or evil."
"Whether they represent justice or wickedness."
"But one thing is certain."
"Their existence has undeniably brought massive change to this world."
"And that kind of change…"
"is exactly what ordinary civilians have been longing for."
Tashigi stood there in complete silence.
These truths.
These ideas.
These deeper understandings—
were things she had never once considered before.
That man…
A pirate…
might not necessarily be evil?
The Marines and the World Government…
might not necessarily represent justice?
Her old worldview began collapsing apart.
Tashigi suddenly felt a splitting headache.
Her mind could barely process everything.
Momousagi sighed sympathetically and gently pulled Tashigi into her embrace.
Standing atop the platform nearby—
Luo Xing had heard every single word Momousagi said to Tashigi.
And he couldn't help admiring her intelligence and clear understanding of the world.
At the same time—
he was extremely pleased by the fact that she was trying to guide Tashigi.
After all—
if Tashigi constantly viewed him as an enemy and endlessly dreamed of returning to the Marines—
even Luo Xing found it troublesome.
If Tashigi could eventually let go of those thoughts and accept him like Momousagi had—
that would naturally be for the best.
Luo Xing's mood improved considerably.
At that moment—
a scout returned from the sea and reported loudly:
"Young Master!"
"The Marine fleet has entered visual range!"
Luo Xing, King, and the four members of the Germa 66 family immediately looked toward the horizon.
Before long—
a massive fleet flying Marine flags appeared across the sea.
Standing at the bow of the lead warship—
was a blind middle-aged man dressed in purple robes.
The newly appointed Marine Admiral—
the Gravity Fruit user:
Issho, also known as Fujitora.
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