"My idea is simple: kill Saul using the harshest methods to warn everyone within the Marine and prevent them from ever having thoughts of betrayal again."
Sakazuki coldly remarked, adding that after Saul's defection, he had personally dealt with the Marine personnel who helped him escape.
Traitors must die!
"I think Vice Admiral Sakazuki's idea is good. Vice Admiral Sakazuki can boldly express his thoughts. If Fleet Admiral Kong has any objections, just tell him that I support your idea," Ross replied with a smile.
He likes straightforward people like Sakazuki.
With Sakazuki leading the charge, he could simply stand behind, cheering and waving the flag.
If it weren't for Sakazuki's immense obsession with the Marine and pirates, Ross would have tried to poach him.
Consider how desperately Sakazuki fought during the Marineford War, and then compare him to the other slackers. Any boss would sincerely wish for more subordinates like Sakazuki who give their all.
"I will express my opinion to Fleet Admiral Kong."
Sakazuki nodded seriously. He understood Ross's thoughts, but having a Celestial Dragon supporting him could only benefit him.
He only wanted to kill all the pirates. As long as Ross was willing to support him, he was willing to make Ross one of the Five Elders.
Absolute justice will surely judge all pirates!
"Then I'll wait and see."
Ross nodded with a smile, watching Sakazuki turn and leave.
"Both he and Kong are using you."
Zephyr stood beside Ross, offering a complex reminder.
"Using me means I still have some value, isn't that a good thing? I'm not Berries, I can't make everyone like me."
Ross smiled. It seemed his efforts over the past few days hadn't been in vain; at least Zephyr was willing to consider his feelings.
As for the issue of exploitation, as long as he could gain tangible benefits, reputation and such were completely unimportant.
Celestial Dragons with a good reputation?
Putting those two words together would seem absurd to most people.
"You know that Sakazuki's sense of justice is a bit extreme. He only cares about the result, and the process might cause a lot of trouble," Zephyr warned.
"If justice isn't extreme, can it still be called justice?"
Ross laughed and countered, then added without hesitation:
"Besides, his sense of justice isn't extreme enough. The most extreme ones would want to put their fists against my head, not those pirates."
"You're talking about Dragon, right? After he defected from the Marine, he did make some inappropriate remarks and even made a group called Freedom Fighters. His thinking has become problematic." Zephyr shook his head.
What do you think of Dragon?
Ross became interested after hearing Zephyr's assessment.
This was the first time he had heard Marine personnel talk about the Freedom Fighters and Dragon, and he was curious to hear Zephyr's opinion.
"You should know his background. His father is Garp. During his years in the Marine, we were grooming him to be the next Admiral."
"But after witnessing several cases of conflict between nobles and commoners, he began to feel dissatisfied with the justice advocated within the Marine."
"In his view, justice suppressed by the current cruel order is not justice at all, and the Marine is not the embodiment of justice, but an accomplice of the World Government and the allied forces, so he left the Marine."
"Because of Garp, the Marine hasn't publicized this matter. They're just keeping a close eye on him to prevent any uncontrollable situations from arising."
"After Roger's death, the Great Pirate Era began, and Dragon took the opportunity to establish the Freedom Fighters. When the Freedom Fighters were founded, the Marine held a meeting, which I also participated in."
Zephyr's eyes held a hint of reminiscence as he spoke slowly and deliberately:
"The Freedom Fighters, as its name suggests, is a free and valiant army led by Dragon, with the aim of eliminating all injustice and bringing freedom to the world."
"Isn't this program good? Freedom, what a wonderful word." Ross scoffed.
"A child's thought," Zephyr shook his head. "Even the darkest order is better than the chaos that freedom brings."
Zephyr has never wavered in his commitment to order.
Even if the World Government does a terrible job, it is still a million times better than the so-called freedom of the whole world.
"That's true."
Ross strongly agrees with this viewpoint.
People are fundamentally different. Don't assume that once the whole world is free, everyone will behave themselves.
As long as the world remains free, it will inevitably descend into a dark age, and in the end, ambitious individuals will rise up to establish oppressive classes and systems.
The notion of universal self-awareness and the ideal of a world in harmony is impossible as long as humanity retains desires. The previous world and thousands of years of human history have already proven this point.
Even if a saint with absolute power appears, once the saint dies, the future will remain the same.
It is less about equality under the rule of a sage and more about humane rule under the dictatorship of a sage.
However, Ross would like to hear Zephyr's opinion on this.
Zephyr's ideas represent a segment of the Marine, and he can use them as a reference.
"Saint Ross, are you familiar with the situation in non-affiliated countries?" Zephyr asked in return.
"I'm not too sure. I only know that non-affiliated countries are not under the jurisdiction of the World Government and do not have to pay Celestial Tribute, but the Marine will not protect them either." Ross shook his head.
He didn't really know much about non-affiliated countries, only that the World Government would select one every few years to establish its authority.
Even so, non-affiliated countries will still spring up like mushrooms after rain.
Some are located in remote and chaotic areas, while others are simply lawless zones.
"I have been to some non-affiliated countries, and it is fair to say that there is basically no order there; in those countries, strength is everything."
Zephyr was lost in memories and slowly said:
"After 800 years of development by the World Government, most of the countries with a semblance of order have been incorporated into the ranks of member states, leaving only some chaotic small countries, chaotic islands, and countries with special geographical environments as non-affiliated countries."
"I once visited a non-affiliated country region called 'Rata Town,' which is a small town located on Rata Island in the South Blue. It is situated on the edge of the South Blue and has about 10,000 local residents. The area is basically controlled by pirates or warlords."
"The local residents there aren't exactly miserable. In fact, they're doing quite well, with each resident earning an average of 1 million Berries per year."
As Zephyr said this, a hint of sarcasm appeared at the corner of his mouth.
One million Berries! Even in the Sabaody Archipelago, that's considered high income.
"It's an illegal business, isn't it?" Ross said with certainty.
Ordinary people can only earn so much money by engaging in illegal trade, which is also the norm in non-affiliated countries.
Not to mention non-affiliated countries, member states also do this kind of business; everyone is doing the same thing.
"That's right. Rata Town is advertised as a tourist paradise and a capital of freedom, attracting a large number of tourists from member states every year, but in reality, it's a slave trade." Zephyr snorted.
"Slave trade? Is that illegal?"
Gion stood to the side, somewhat confused. This was the first time she had ever heard of the slave trade being illegal, but weren't there many slave shops in the Sabaody Archipelago?
"The slave trade is not illegal, but kidnapping and trading nationals of member states is illegal," Ross said calmly.
The laws of World Governments are actually quite bizarre.
Robbery, murder, and kidnapping are all considered crimes and will be dealt with accordingly. Of course, the law does not apply to nobles, and each constituent republic also has its own autonomous laws.
However, one thing remains the same: kidnapping is illegal, but buying and selling slaves is not.
Then the question arises: where did the slaves come from?
Don't ask, the answer is that they were slaves from non-affiliated countries. There were no missing persons in any of the member states.
As long as this point is firmly established, the slaves will have a way to explain their origins.
"You can do that?"
Gion couldn't believe it, feeling that the World Government's laws were somewhat ridiculous, wasn't this giving slave traders an opportunity to exploit loopholes?
"So this led to the emergence of areas like Rata Town, which is a lawless place. Every year, they use different methods to deceive or forcibly take people to Rata Town, and then, after acquiring the Rata Town identity, they sell them all over the world."
"The slave trade in the Sabaody Archipelago is already a selection of the best. The slave trade is in non-affiliated countries like Rata and in the numerous slave-catching ships that are everywhere."
"As long as you make a deal with them, even if you were once a nobleman, they can fabricate a story about giving up your noble status and joining the town of Rata."
Zephyr snorted coldly, also disliking this behavior.