After Sabo and the others rescued Lin's fellow villagers and a large group of slaves, they didn't plan to leave through the amusement park's main entrance as they had originally intended. They might run into the people rampaging through the city, and the newly rescued slaves could be put in danger.
Instead, they took the secret passage they had used to get there, which led straight to the city entrance.
With Matthew's help, they also opened another escape route he had prepared for himself, which led directly to the docks.
"Hey! There's a secret passage here?"
The moment the passage opened, Chen Qiang spotted it and flashed to the entrance, looking inside with curiosity.
"Chen Qiang!"
Just as Chen Qiang was wondering who had been bold enough to dig a secret passage and escape right under his nose, Lin's voice rang out from inside. The moment he heard it, she shot out of the passage and threw her arms around him.
"So it's you, Lin! How did it go? Did you rescue them?"
As soon as he heard her voice, Chen Qiang recognized her. When she hugged him, his smile grew even brighter. He patted her on the head.
"Mm! We rescued them. Thank you!"
"I promised I'd help you save them. I wouldn't go back on my word!"
He smiled at Lin again, then gently pulled her away from him.
"Come on, stop hugging me. I'm covered in blood!"
"Chen Qiang, you bastard! What are you trying to do? Why did you incite the slaves in the city?"
As Chen Qiang pulled Lin away, another figure rushed out of the passage. It was Koala, her face icy as she confronted him.
"What am I trying to do? Free this city, of course. What else?"
"Do you realize how many innocent slaves could die because of what you've done? This isn't liberation—you're getting people killed!"
"Then tell me, how would you free them? Like the Revolutionary Army? Going around rescuing them one by one? Give me a break."
"You—"
"Enough, Koala. Let me handle this."
By then, the slaves they had rescued had all made their way through the passage, and Sabo and the others, who had been bringing up the rear, had emerged too. Seeing that Koala was about to argue with Chen Qiang, Sabo hurried over to stop her.
"So you also think I was wrong to do this?"
Chen Qiang looked calmly at Sabo, who had come over to him.
At Chen Qiang's question, Sabo first nodded, then shook his head before replying, "I just want to hear your reasons for doing it."
"You want to hear my reasons? Sure. First, get someone to help these people board the ship. Then I'll explain."
"Okay."
Sabo nodded. He drew Koala aside and said something to her, then returned to Chen Qiang. Koala glared at Chen Qiang before going to organize the people boarding the ship.
"All right, tell me. I really want to know what you're trying to accomplish. I do think what you did was a little reckless, but from what you said earlier, it was clear you had a deeper reason for it."
Standing in front of Chen Qiang, Sabo looked at him seriously.
"You three brothers... If I didn't know for a fact that you weren't all born to the same parents, I'd think you were blood brothers. You're all goofballs most of the time, but when you get serious, you're all so serious."
Seeing Sabo's solemn expression, Chen Qiang stared at him without expression for a moment. Then a smile spread across his face as he spoke.
"Of course! The three of us are closer than real brothers! But how did you know I'm Luffy and Ace's brother?"
"That's a secret." Chen Qiang wore a mysterious smile.
"Fine. Let's talk about what you did and why it matters. And don't tell me it's a secret again!"
"Sure. Come on, let's find somewhere to sit. I'll explain it properly."
Seeing that Sabo had dropped the earlier question and returned to the matter at hand, Chen Qiang kept smiling as he led him aside. He found a rock to sit on and began to speak.
"Before I tell you what I'm aiming for, I want to ask you a question."
"What is it? Ask away. As long as it isn't classified information, I can tell you."
"The Revolutionary Army has been around for almost twenty years, right?"
"Mm, that's true. But what does that have to do with what you're going to say?"
Sabo wasn't sure why Chen Qiang had suddenly asked him that.
"Just listen and answer me. You'll understand why I asked later."
"All right. What else do you want to know?"
"Okay, then. In the twenty years since the Revolutionary Army was founded, what have you accomplished? How many slaves have you freed?"
"We've done a lot. We've liberated around a dozen islands, and we've rescued nearly a hundred thousand slaves."
Though he still didn't understand why Chen Qiang was asking, Sabo told him what he knew about the Revolutionary Army.
"Have you ever thought about this? The Revolutionary Army has been around for twenty years, yet it's liberated only a dozen or so islands and rescued a hundred thousand slaves. How many years will it take to free every country, overthrow the Celestial Dragons, and make a world without slavery?"
"You can't put it that way. We spent a long time preparing, and only started taking action in the last few years. Isn't it pretty fast to have achieved so much in just a few years?"
"Fast? Do you know how many slaves there are in this world, how many people are captured and enslaved every day, or how many suffer under the oppression of the nobles? At your current pace, how long will it take to realize your ideals and completely overthrow this rotten World Government?"
"Uh..."
For a moment, Sabo didn't know what to say. Given the way they operated, realizing the Revolutionary Army's goal of overthrowing the World Government would indeed take a very long time. They might not even achieve it in their lifetimes.
"No matter how long it takes, we'll keep moving forward. Even if it costs us our entire lives, we'll never waver. This is the cause we're willing to devote our lives to. No hardship can stop us!"
Sabo hesitated only briefly. His gaze soon turned firm again, and he answered with conviction.
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