The Debate of Strength and Weakness

This sudden turn of events completely shattered Vivi's hopes. Before she could question Gato about why, Gato beat her to it and recited the lines he had prepared.

"Gahahaha! Crocodile is one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, after all. I may be strong, but he's no pushover either. With him protecting Alabasta, it'd be far too difficult for me to make a move.

"With the token you gave me, I can openly drive a wedge between the king and Crocodile. I'll tell the king that you traded your life for this information, and that Crocodile is the culprit behind everything!"

"Damn it, so this is your scheme?!" Igaram shielded Vivi, who had collapsed helplessly to the ground, behind him. "If you want to kill Princess Vivi, you'll have to step over my corpse first."

He pushed Princess Vivi backward, then boldly opened fire on Gato.

Many cannon barrels were hidden within Igaram's hair. At such close range, he thought there was no way Gato could escape.

But the instant the shells were fired, Igaram found an ice-cold blade pressed against his neck.

"Don't!"

Seeing Gato's intention to take Igaram's head with a single slash, Vivi cried out, tears streaming down her face.

I'm next, aren't I...? she thought.

"Alright!"

To her surprise, Gato actually sheathed his sword.

Both of them were bewildered. Hadn't he just been about to kill them? What was going on now?

Seeing their frightened yet puzzled expressions, Gato finally couldn't hold it in any longer and burst out laughing.

"Gahahaha! That was too fun—I was just messing with you! I'm Gato, captain of the Six Paths Pirates, not some Mr. 0. You'll probably be seeing my wanted poster soon enough."

Igaram flew into a rage. "Bastard! Is this the time for jokes? You're absolutely vile!"

It was hardly surprising. Anyone who had been toyed with like that would feel as if they had taken a trip through the gates of death. Anger was only natural.

"Enough, Igaram. I think Mr. Gato was warning me that I was too naive. I failed to consider even such a terrifying possibility before entrusting something important to someone else. That was truly foolish of me."

Vivi stopped Igaram. To be honest, she was furious too, but as the princess of a kingdom, she was mature enough. She had just witnessed how terrifying it was to make an enemy of Gato, and she did not want Igaram to provoke him further.

Of course, Gato was not bored enough to toy with Vivi for no reason. What he was about to say was his true purpose: he wanted to plant a seed of desire for strength within her.

"You're wrong. Your only mistake was that you were too weak."

Vivi looked utterly confused. Too weak? How was that a mistake?

"When people see someone strong, they instinctively want to get close to them—especially if that person seems friendly. So, because of the goodwill shown by me, someone stronger than you, you overlooked the possibility that I might be harmful to you. If you were as strong as I am, you wouldn't have lowered your guard so easily.

"And right now, you want to beat me up, don't you? Why don't you? You both understand the reason, right? Power is in my hands now, so I can do whatever I want."

After hearing Gato's words, Vivi said seriously, "Mr. Gato, that isn't right. My father once told me that strength should not be used however one pleases. Whether it's pranks or threats, shouldn't it ultimately be used to protect something?"

Gato was now trying to instill in her the idea that weakness was a sin and that power was supreme. Vivi, who had been kind-hearted and concerned for her country and its people since childhood, found it impossible to accept.

"Gahahaha! So you're going to teach me how to use this power, Vivi? Don't make me laugh. You've never possessed this power yourselves, yet you dare claim to know better than I do how it should be used? If you want to tell me what to do, first reach my level before you speak.

"When you can see the scenery I see from this height, then come tell me what someone who wields extraordinary power should do—and what they are allowed to do!

"If that day ever comes, you'll be able to solve every problem facing your kingdom on your own, instead of doing meaningless things like you are now.

"Have you ever considered what would happen even if you really uncovered the mastermind? What could you do? Whether Mr. 0 is Crocodile or me, we are both existences Alabasta cannot stand against."

After listening to Gato's long speech, Vivi fell silent for a long time. Then she smiled brightly, as though making all flowers pale in comparison.

"Thank you, Mr. Gato. I understand what you were trying to tell me. I won't disappoint you."

She began to somewhat agree with Gato's view: the weak had no right to judge whether the actions of the strong were right or wrong.

That might have been somewhat extreme. Put another way, few powerful people cared what the weak thought. To the strong, the thoughts of the weak were generally meaningless.

So, she could only become strong herself. Only by standing among the strong would she gain the right to speak. Whether they agreed with her views or not, they would at least consider them seriously rather than ignore them.

The world of pirates was just that cruel. If one could not adapt to it, one could only be eliminated.

Though Gato's way of teaching was somewhat unpleasant, Vivi could feel that he had put real thought into telling her these things.

All of a sudden, Vivi felt that Gato's goodwill toward her went far beyond what a stranger would normally offer. It was as though she had been his good friend for a very long time.

No matter how often he openly or subtly said that the strong could treat the weak as they pleased, Gato never seemed to disregard her thoughts. She could feel that he cared about what she had to say.

"Oh? Then tell me—what did you understand?"

Vivi smiled. "I understand that if I want to beat you up, if I want to tell you how strength should be used properly, there is only one way: become stronger."

"Gahaha, you've got some nerve. You really dare say it! Defeat Crocodile and save your country first before talking such big words."

Gato laughed happily. It had been a long time since anyone had made him laugh so freely.

Naturally, he did not want to help Vivi merely because she was beautiful. In truth, the moment Gato "saw" Vivi again, he had already decided to make her his companion. It was a decision he had made in a flash of inspiration.

And because Vivi was someone he had already chosen as a companion, Gato was willing to waste so much breath teaching her some of the basic ways to survive in this world.

Vivi laughed along with him.

Igaram, standing beside them, watched in utter confusion. Gato had put on such a dramatic reversal that his somewhat clumsy mind could not process it right away.

"Alright, Vivi. No time to waste. It's time to go to Alabasta and fulfill your request. I'm a busy man, after all."

"Ah! We're leaving so soon?"

"Yeah. Good luck. Crocodile isn't the only strong person in Baroque Works... Do you need my help?"