This was not the first time Kuzan had witnessed such a scene. However, it was the first time that a single sentence had led him to think so deeply.
Was this what that man had meant by class?
With no hope of advancement, people lived each day merely to survive, waiting for misfortune to strike. In less than a second, a lifetime of effort and even their lives could be taken away.
"Rowan," Kuzan asked quietly, "do you think this world is sick?"
Rowan replied, "How would I know? Sick or not, I'm just working for money. If I can prevent a girl from dying unclothed, that's already the limit of what I can do."
"What the higher-ups say, we follow. We're paid to do a job. We're not them, so how could we possibly understand their suffering?"
With a casual wave of his hand, Rowan stood and headed toward the warship.
A Superhuman-type Devil Fruit user of the Strength Fruit… I hope I run into you. If I do, I'll make you regret ever being born.
A fire burned within Rowan's heart, trapped with no outlet.
He had draped his Marine justice cloak over the girl because he could not face the lifeless gaze she left behind.
It was a look filled with humiliation and despair. There was no spirit left in her eyes, only emptiness, mockery of the world, and a sense of release.
If rebirth truly existed, she might not wish to be human again.
"Ha…"
After exhaling deeply, Rowan steadied his emotions.
Power. I need the power to cleave through the darkness of this world.
With the Mother Flame as an energy source to shield the islands, the day would come when it would be soldier against soldier, king against king.
Vegapunk's technology, the ancient warship Pluton of Wano, and Poseidon of Fish-Man Island, who would not be born for another six years. As for Uranus, he knew nothing.
He could hardly wait.
A river within the island divided the classes into two. Those near the royal city were temporarily regarded as human, while the residents on the other side were treated as less than livestock.
After only a single day, Rowan realized that this nation possessed the strength to resist pirates. Yet the king had chosen not to use it.
As for the reason…
Kuzan understood. Rowan understood as well.
The Heavenly Tribute was calculated based on population. Eliminating the elderly, the weak, and the young who produced no profit was, in the king's eyes, a profitable decision.
The sons and fathers of these victims had been royal guards who died in past wars, as well as civilians slaughtered in conflicts. It was a complete and ruthless filtration.
[Note: The Heavenly Tribute being calculated per person originates from the Sorbet Kingdom in Bartholomew Kuma's flashback.]
Two days later, the Giant Strength Pirates still had not appeared. Marine Headquarters could not keep a force like Kuzan stationed here indefinitely.
Intelligence soon reported their whereabouts, and the Marine warship set sail to pursue them.
The voyage was tedious. Rowan lay on a deck chair, fast asleep.
"Ha…"
Yawning, Rowan rubbed his eyes. "The intelligence department is useless. It's already been two days. Those pirates knew the Marines would make a show of it. They must have fled long ago."
Kuzan frowned. "A show?"
Rowan glanced at him. "Vice Admiral Kuzan, do you really believe the Marine Intelligence Division, which shares information with the World Government, is this incompetent?"
As Kuzan looked over, Rowan narrowed his eyes, concealing the sharpness within them. His voice remained calm and unhurried.
"If a dog begins to guard its own food, the master must remind it who its owner is."
"You can only take what you are given. What you are not given must be surrendered obediently. Otherwise… you might be slaughtered at any time and turned into dog meat."
Kuzan was momentarily stunned. "Mary Geoise…"
"No," Rowan interrupted. "It's just a minor member nation. Those five elders have no interest in personally issuing orders for trivial matters like this. I can tell you because it is merely a precedent, a standard practice of the World Government."
"The king didn't care about the elderly, the weak, or the sick on the other side of the river. He even cooperated with the pirates in a tacit massacre. But what about the people on this side? They are the foundation of his rule. If he loses part of his royal guard, he won't have the money to pay the Heavenly Tribute. At that point, non-member nations would be eyeing him like prey."
Kuzan fell silent.
Compared to Sakazuki and Borsalino, he was much younger than his two colleagues. He had only been out of the Marine training camp for a few years and knew little about the intricate dealings within the Marines and the World Government.
But he was not foolish.
After the South Blue incident and the tragedy of Ohara, he instinctively felt that Rowan's words were the truth behind this matter.
The Giant Strength Pirates were not meant to die now. Their end would come only after they invaded that kingdom again, reminding the king that he was merely a dog. Only then would the pirates, having served their purpose, be slaughtered.
"Why explain all this to me all of a sudden?" Kuzan asked.
Rowan pulled his eye mask back down. "I'm bored. Just telling you a story to pass the time."
Meanwhile, in the New World of the latter half of the Grand Line, near the waters of the Olga Kingdom.
Less than half a day after the Marine warship had departed, the Giant Strength Pirates reappeared, speeding toward the harbor.
"Men!"
"Boss!"
"Did you enjoy the last raid?"
"We did!"
"How did those little women taste?"
"Delightful!"
"How was the smell of blood?"
"Wonderful!"
"Then let's do it again! This time, our target is the royal palace! Strip that cowardly king of everything and seize all his women!"
Cheers erupted across the pirate ship.
Having tasted success before, the pirates roared with excitement at the thought of doing whatever they pleased. It was a nation that offered no resistance. What could a handful of old men, elderly women, and children armed with wooden sticks possibly do?
They were nothing more than prey delivered to their doorstep.
The screams of that little girl last time had sounded truly delightful…
At that moment, a sharp whistling sound tore through the air above the sea.
"Ah."
A kunai embedded itself into the mast. In the next instant, a figure stood upon it.
"I've been waiting for you."
Rowan's calm gaze swept across the entire Giant Strength Pirate crew before settling on the obviously obese captain.
Through occasional conversations with Spandine, he had learned many of the World Government's unwritten conventions, including situations like this.
After his initial surge of anger, the Olga Kingdom had become part of Rowan's plan. It had taken only two days for the strategy to form.
"A masked man… Are you from the World Government?" the pirate captain asked.
Rowan did not answer. He drew six kunai and hurled them outward, pinning them to various parts of the pirate ship.
"Hmm."
As his figure vanished, the captain of the Giant Strength Pirates jolted in alarm.
The image of the masked, cloaked Rowan was already etched into his mind.
"Cloaked Man?!"
"Pfft!"
His answer was the blood spurting from a pirate officer's throat. A thin layer of Armament Haki was no match for the black kunai. Half of the man's neck was exposed to the air as blood sprayed violently outward.
"Who is it?"
"Damn it, kill him!"
"It's the Teleportation Fruit user! It's the Cloaked Man!"
The sudden realization silenced the shouting pirates. In the next instant, panic spread across the deck.
To reach the New World from the first half of the Grand Line, Armament Haki was considered standard. It was born from ambition, but rarely from unwavering resolve.
And at this moment…
"Run!"
"Run! It's the Cloaked Man with an 830 million bounty!"
"Escape!"
Chaos erupted. In their panic, no one even paid attention to their captain.
Having seen enough of the world, they knew that even their captain, a Strength Fruit user, was no match for someone worth 830 million berries.
However, just as one pirate reached the emergency lifeboat, his throat was slit.
He never even saw his attacker. As he collapsed, the last thing he witnessed was a streak of black light flashing across the deck.
Each flash was accompanied by spurting blood and death.
"Damn it! Stop, you bastard!"
The captain of the Giant Strength Pirates roared. His arms were coated in Armament Haki, his massive and obese body trembling with rage. But his Observation Haki could not keep up with Rowan's speed.
He swung wildly, leaving gaping holes in the deck, but it was all futile.
Five minutes later, the deck of the pirate ship was littered with corpses. Every pirate lay dead with their throats severed. Not a single survivor remained.
The captain, now panting heavily, raged helplessly. Only when Rowan came to a halt did he shout:
"We've never offended you! You were at the Sabaody Archipelago! Why are you here?"
Rowan ignored the question. He casually flicked his kunai, shaking off the remaining blood.
"Back in the day, I would have tied you up and carved you piece by piece. But now I've realized that my methods are nothing compared to the black flames of my prison."
He spoke as if to himself before turning his gaze toward the pirate captain.
"You still have some use, so you'll be kept alive a little longer."
"Use?"
"You think I'll cooperate with you?" the captain roared. "You never intended to spare me! You've slaughtered all my men, you bastard!"
Rowan picked at his ear indifferently.
"You seem to have misunderstood. Your usefulness is necessary. Whether you cooperate is not up to you."
As soon as he finished speaking, Rowan vanished. A black spatial mark silently crawled onto the captain's neck.
"Slash!"
A wound tore across his back from shoulder to waist. Blood flowed freely as Rowan disappeared once more.
Only then did the captain's massive axe swing backward in retaliation.
"Hmm."
Another wound appeared.
In just thirty seconds, a pool of blood had formed beneath the captain's feet. More than twenty injuries covered his chest and back, each dripping steadily.
As blood loss blurred his vision, his Devil Fruit power faded. There was no possibility of turning the tide.
"Against me, someone whose Observation Haki hasn't reached its peak is nothing more than a target," Rowan said calmly.
Stepping forward, he flipped his kunai and severed the captain's fingers in a single motion.
"AAAAAH! You bastard!"
In the next second, another finger was severed.
"It seems that even after losing so much blood, you're still quite spirited. Let's continue."
There were twenty-eight phalanges in both hands combined. Waves of agony surged through him as bone was exposed, each slice carving away another piece of flesh.
"Does it hurt?"
"In truth, I think the greatest suffering you ever witnessed happened before this."
"The moment I saw those corpses along the coast, I wondered how long it would take to encounter you. Later, I remembered a few things and decided it would be better to wait. And so, I did. Eventually, you came."
"Tell me, when those elderly people clung to your legs at the cost of their lives, when their hands were severed, did they feel the same pain you feel now?"
Ten minutes later, Rowan took out a Den Den Mushi and dialed.
"Purururu… Purururu…"
"Sir!"
The voice on the other end was filled with excitement.
Rowan spoke calmly, "Captain Noel, you may begin."
Olga Kingdom, Inner City
As the leader of a Revolutionary Army squad stationed in the latter half of the Grand Line, Noel had gathered a crowd before a projection Den Den Mushi.
The moment the image appeared, an elderly man in the crowd stood up.
"It's him! The captain of the pirate crew that invaded that day! I saw him from afar!"
Noel gestured for him to sit down. On the screen, the pitiful captain of the Giant Strength Pirates began recounting his brief transaction with the World Government.
His weak voice echoed as the projection revealed the corpses strewn around him.
Soon, the transmission ended.
Noel stood and faced the silent crowd.
"Perhaps on that day, you all felt fortunate. Misfortune had befallen others, and you were able to live on with a trace of sympathy."
"But it is clear that once you can no longer create value, once your sons in the royal guard are dead, their fate will become yours."
"And when that day comes, there will be another group within the inner city. A group whose loved ones survived. They will watch you with that same faint sympathy as you are slaughtered, as your families and children are humiliated."
"So tell me… are you willing to accept that?"
An old man stepped forward from the crowd.
His identity was special. He was the father of a squad leader in the royal guard and one of the first individuals the Revolutionary Army had persuaded in recent days.
"If we stand by in indifference today, then tomorrow our own pleas will be ignored."
"That wretched king has never treated us as his people. He is nothing like his father. To him, our lives and the lives of our families are worthless."
"A king like that… must be overthrown!"
Ten Days Later
A coup erupted in the New World's Olga Kingdom. The king was killed during the uprising.
When agents of the World Government arrived, they discovered that the royal guard had already restored order. A previously unknown illegitimate son of the king had ascended the throne and declared that the Heavenly Tribute would be paid on time.
This stance stood in stark contrast to that of the former ruler. With a legitimate public justification, the World Government chose not to interfere.
In truth, however, Olga no longer had a king.
Instead, it was governed by a rotating grand council.
Baltigo
"Use Olga Kingdom's status as a member nation to procure restricted equipment. Make sure to fabricate suitable purposes for the machinery. Also, conceal certain items within the Heavenly Tribute shipments and wait for the next delivery."
In Baltigo, Rowan discussed Olga Kingdom's role with Dragon.
For nations with such special circumstances, Rowan required the Revolutionary Army to keep a close watch. At this stage, development remained the top priority. Being able to quietly expand their influence without drawing attention was the best possible outcome.
"That commander of the royal guard must undergo long-term observation and education. If his desire for power suppresses the goodness he once possessed, he will expose our existence."
"Once the number of member nations influenced by the Revolutionary Army increases, Mary Geoise will inevitably turn its gaze toward us."
"It is not yet time to step into the open. Whether we do so will depend on the results ten years from now."
After arranging a series of plans, Rowan turned to Dragon and asked the most important question.
"How are Vegapunk's ideological studies progressing?"
Dragon replied, "So far, the results are promising. The future we have outlined is one in which the limitless energy he dreams of will truly benefit the people."
Hearing this, Rowan let out a long sigh of relief.
Just as he had told Dragon before, Vegapunk's importance was immeasurable. In the entire world, neither Caesar nor Germa could compare to a single Vegapunk.
"As long as he is interested and agrees with our ideals, he will not hold anything back in his research. Even if he leaves hidden safeguards, they will be harmless as long as his stance aligns with ours."
After a moment of thought, Rowan continued:
"The advancement of technology determines the progress of the world as a whole. The Revolutionary Army must not rely solely on him. If any researchers emerge among our recruits, ensure their ideological alignment before assigning them to study at his laboratory."
Dragon nodded. "I've already begun making arrangements. However, researchers are scarce. Germa in the North Blue, the World Government, and even forces in the New World are all competing to recruit such talent."
"The New World?"
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