God's Nation
The chaotic room finally quieted down.
"In that case, let's go and defeat that god!" Luffy suddenly had a brilliant idea.
"Shh! Shut up!" Conis's forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat. She looked around nervously, quickly drew the curtains, and warned, "Don't utter any more blasphemous remarks, or you'll all die!"
"Since you're so afraid of God, why don't you think about defeating him?" Luffy couldn't understand.
However, Conis was even more puzzled, "Why rebel? Maintaining reverence for God is simply a matter of course."
"God has given us peace and tranquility, and we all respect and love God from the bottom of our hearts." Conis's little face was filled with admiration. "You may not be able to imagine that five years ago, we were far from having such a highly developed civilization. Even this island under our feet was once reduced to ruins of war. We had to live in fear every day, worried that we would become victims of war."
"How is that possible? This place looks peaceful to me, there are no traces of war left behind at all!" Vivi couldn't help but ask.
"Yes, this is the miracle that God has brought us!" Conis exclaimed from the bottom of her heart. "Five years ago, God decisively defeated the previous god, ending his tyrannical rule and ending the four-hundred-year-long hatred between us Angel Island and Shandia People, allowing the light of peace to shine on this land once again!"
"Four hundred years of hatred..." Nami murmured to herself. Having lived under Arlong's control for ten years, she knew the weight of the word hatred better than anyone.
Hatred is like a seed; catalyzed by war, it will eventually grow into a towering tree.
Ten years of hatred had already etched itself into her heart, Nami could hardly imagine how deeply rooted four hundred years of hatred would be, let alone how the god Conis spoke of could have done it.
After hearing Conis's words, everyone's opinion of the god changed somewhat; it seemed that the god did indeed have some ability.
"Wait, five years ago? Could it be that the god you're talking about only arrived at Sky Island five years ago?" Sanji asked.
"Yes, the gods, like you, come from that sea below," Conis nodded.
"What's going on? So that god is from Qinghai just like us, huh? He actually came here to play the role of a god." Luffy said with dissatisfaction.
"Could he be a loser on the Grand Line?" Zoro said dismissively.
"If you keep talking bad about the gods like this, I'm going to get angry!" Conis pouted angrily.
"In any case, a god who brought advanced technology, quelled the war here, and brought them peace and tranquility, truly deserves the title of 'god' in the eyes of those Skypieans," Vivi said with emotion.
Indeed, for ordinary people in the Great Pirate Era, their entire lives might be confined to the island they inhabit. So-called "freedom" is not important to them; all they really want is to live a humble life.
"From the perspective of the Skypieans, God's actions were indeed correct. This place is a paradise, and if the pirates leave and leak information about it, it might attract the attention of those ambitious individuals," Nami said with deep feeling.
"Fine, then I won't go and defeat that god." Luffy slumped into the table, looking dejected.
"But..." Just when everyone thought Luffy was about to become discouraged and dejected, he suddenly revived with great energy, startling everyone else. "I will definitely return to the sea. After all, I am going to be the Pirate Kings!"
"By the way, Conis, don't you respect your gods? Why are you telling us all this?" Usopp asked curiously.
"No need to guess, it must be because Miss Conis has fallen in love with my handsome face and elegant demeanor. Ah! My soft heart has been burned by Miss Conis's fiery gaze... Wait, Miss Nami, let me finish!" Before Sanji could finish speaking, Nami grabbed his ear and dragged him away.
"Perhaps... it's out of sympathy for the weak," Conis sighed.
Everyone looked exasperated.
Luffy complained, "We're really strong! We have the world's greatest swordsman, the world's greatest chef, the world's greatest navigator, the world's greatest liar, the world's greatest doctor, the world's greatest princess... and me, the world's greatest Pirate Kings!"
Usopp moved behind Luffy. "Damn it, what do you mean by 'the world's number one liar'? You should be called the world's number one sniper king!"
"Yes, Luffy and his crew are very strong. Luffy has a bounty of 100 million Beli, and Zoro has a bounty of 60 million Beli. In the Grand Line, the sea in the lower world, there aren't many people with a higher bounty than Luffy!" Chopper said with pride.
"Haha, it's not as good as you say," Luffy said smugly.
Although Luffy and his crew did not defeat Crocodile, contrary to the original storyline, the Marine Headquarters highly affirmed their 'threat' for escaping from a monster like Nightmare.
Conis winked playfully and said innocently, "Is a bounty of 100 million Beli a lot? I seem to remember the 'God's Guard' saying that they've never had a bounty of less than 100 million Beli on the high seas before."
"Cough cough..." Luffy was still feeling smug, was suddenly slapped in the face and coughed violently. He looked at Conis with a suspicious gaze. "You're not saying this on purpose, are you? There aren't that many pirates with bounties over 100 million in the first half of the Grand Line, are there?"
Zoro, upon hearing this, became serious. "Luffy, Conis never said that the god came from the first half of the Grand Line. Maybe he came from the New World, just like your brother and that monster that appeared in Alabasta last time?"
The room fell silent instantly, everyone wore serious expressions and was too heavy to speak.
In the past, they might not have thought much of it, but since being easily defeated by the Nightmare last time, they have truly realized the gap between the first half of the Grand Line and the New World. Just as Luffy's brother warned them, one is Paradise for pirates, while the other is a graveyard for them.
"Gulp..." Usopp swallowed hard. "I say, why don't we sneak back the way we came? If that god is a great pirate who retreated from the New World, we have no chance against that kind of monster."
"Yeah, what appeared last time was just a projection of Nightmare, and it brought us to the brink of collapse. Even if this so-called god is no match for Nightmare, it's still far beyond what we can handle." Nami was also trembling. One near-death experience was enough; she didn't have the courage to go through it again.
Chopper, one of the three weaklings, wasn't about to be outdone. He said in a trembling voice, "If all the crew members are pirates with bounties over 100 million, then the captain must be a monster among monsters. I think we should leave quietly."