Pirate Representatives

What else?

Rindou had not expected Leo to have even more considerations. She could not help but stare blankly, only now realizing that Leo's thinking was more comprehensive than hers.

Rindou had not gone deep into the Empress's chambers to hear Leo's strategy, so she naturally had no idea what there was about this physically weak man that had captivated the Empress so deeply. Now, though, it seemed like his line of thinking had some real substance.

But she hated admitting defeat. Hearing Leo test her like this, she could not help lowering her head and continuing to think. What else?

What else could there be?

Leo waited for a while. Seeing that she truly could not squeeze out an answer, he smiled faintly. "There's also training their obedience and discipline. In the end, we need to make them face reality. Even after leaving the Calm Belt, their fates will still be tied to ours. If they want to run, they won't know how many days they can last, so they'll have more to consider before trying."

"With the supplies in our hands, my safety when I board their ship will increase by several degrees without anyone noticing."

"And lastly..." Leo smiled softly. "I can organize how they eat, when they eat, where they eat, and how they eat."

"This is very important."

A question mark seemed to pop up over Rindou's head. She clearly did not understand why the kind of eating Leo described was so important.

Obviously, this was something only people from the Great Eating Empire could understand.

Most pirate ships did not even have a [chef] position. What they ate was often more miserable than what ordinary people on land ate, such as salted meat or black bread as hard as stone.

Yet even those things could still grow moldy or spoil, and there were even more cases of rats in the hold stealing their food.

The living conditions on many pirate ships, especially those with large crews, were extremely poor—little different from the early days of the Age of Sail. The crew slept in hammocks strung between two pillars, and everyone woke up with aching backs and sore waists.

As for clothing, food, shelter, and travel, they were all handled carelessly.

Take bathing, for example. Bathing in the sea was impossible. Once seawater dried, its salt clung to the skin and made it even drier, so one had to wipe oneself clean with fresh water.

But a ship could not store much fresh water at all, because most of it had to be used to wash the deck—the corrosive power of seawater on wood was tremendous. Constant immersion was one thing, but once wood had been battered by seawater and then oxidized, it rotted incredibly quickly. Meanwhile, any remaining water left sitting for four or five days became stagnant and sour, impossible to drink.

That was precisely why pirates appreciated alcohol even more—rum and wine were both plant-based liquors. Rum was distilled from sugarcane, and low-quality rum contained a certain amount of vitamins. Wine contained even more; wine fermented by French methods had more vitamins than rum.

Not every ship had a Nami who grew oranges aboard to ensure the crew got their vitamins.

Besides over a hundred loaves of bread, Leo had brought two slabs of salted meat and over a hundred bottles of rum, all to ensure their survival.

However, when two grappling hooks dropped from the pirate ship and caught the iron rings at the front and rear of the lifeboat, slowly hauling it up with winches, the pirates waiting eagerly on deck tried to swarm forward—only for Rindou to halt them by aiming the cannon at her waist.

"Get me a few clean tables. Everyone above officer rank, come help me. And bring me two clean, sharp knives." Leo did not get off the lifeboat, instead calling loudly to "Great Bay Blade" William.

"Everyone stand properly and form two lines." As he spoke to William, he also addressed the restless pirates.

Rindou stood beside him. The threat of her cannon was very real. Talking to these pirates about Armament Haki or Observation Haki was useless; the only things that worked were the blades, guns, and cannons they could see and touch.

After a brief commotion, they finally remembered that they were prisoners. In any case, they quieted down. Leo nodded to himself; these people really were much as he had expected.

Most pirates were alike: brutal, inclined to bully the weak and fear the strong, dishonest, and full of petty cleverness. If they had truly been honest or diligent, they would either have died under the oppression of the World Government's many kingdoms or struggled on under exploitation. There was no third path.

Even a smart, quick-witted girl like Nami had still been unable to escape once someone held what she cared about in their hands.

These pirates were, for the most part, people with nothing.

Family, relatives, homeland, land, property...

They had nothing!

It was something Leo had suddenly realized that day, when they had begged for mercy.

He had originally wanted to infiltrate the Amazon warrior women, but they lacked every condition needed for revolutionaries. They possessed stable property of their own, and the Amazon Lily Kingdom had even come infinitely close to a great harmony—money circulated internally, but most people had little use for it, and their material needs were not high. That was probably also related to their isolationism, their low demands for quality of life, and their limited trade and contact with the outside world.

They would never be moved by Leo's "pretty words." Without personal experience, it was unrealistic to expect them to transform overnight into great international warriors who would liberate all humanity.

So he had abandoned that thought.

But with the appearance of the Cutlass Pirates, that thought had risen again, growing ever stronger.

The Kuja Pirates were not representative. They were a special group.

Like the future Straw Hat Pirates, they themselves were highly unusual. Their bonds and way of life differed from those of ordinary pirates, so they could not be regarded as pirates.

But these fewer than ninety starving people before him were representatives of the countless pirates upon these seas.

As long as Leo convinced them, it would mean convincing the countless pirates across the seas—absorbing countless fighting forces. With their support, and after winning over the common people, there would finally be a real possibility of overturning the World Government.

Otherwise, a single Shichibukai would never be able to sustain a war against the World Government.

"Everyone, line up at the table on the left. After receiving your bread, go to the middle table for salted meat, then go to the table on the right for rum."

"Anyone who breaks order will not be allowed to eat today."

For now, Leo would not lecture them about lofty principles. The first lesson he would teach them was—discipline.

PS: I'm not in great spirits today, so I can't write the third update. I'll make up the update for 3,000 recommendations tomorrow. There will just be the usual two updates today.

PS1: Even with only two updates, I still have the shamelessness to say: Please vote with recommendations!