Pirate Representative

Chapter 024: Pirate Representative

What else?

Rindou hadn't expected Leo to have even more considerations, and she couldn't help but freeze for a moment, only then realizing that his thinking was far more thorough than her own.

Rindou hadn't gone deep into the Empress's bedchamber to hear Leo's strategy, so naturally she didn't know what exactly about this powerless man had captivated and obsessed Her Majesty. Now it seemed his line of thought actually had some substance.

But she had a stubborn streak. Hearing Leo's challenge, she couldn't help lowering her head to keep thinking. What else?

What else was there!

Leo waited a while, and when he saw she really couldn't squeeze anything else out, he gave a slight smile. "Next, train their obedience and discipline, and finally make them face reality. Even if they leave the Calm Belt, their fate is tied to ours. If they try to run, I wonder how many days they'd last, so before escaping, they'll think twice."

"With the supplies in our hands, my safety when I go to their ship will increase by a few degrees."

"And finally..." Leo chuckled lightly. "I can organize how they eat, when they eat, where they eat, and how they eat."

"That part is very important."

A question mark popped up over Rindou's head, clearly not understanding why the way they ate mattered so much.

Obviously, this was a problem only someone from the Great Eating Empire could grasp.

Most pirate ships didn't have a [Cook] position. What they ate was even more miserable than what ordinary people on land had—like salted meat or black bread as hard as stone.

But even so, those things could still mold or spoil, and rats in the hold stealing their food was even more common.

Many pirate ships, especially those with large crews, had terrible living conditions, not much different from the early Age of Exploration. Crewmen slept in hammocks strung between two posts, and everyone woke up with sore backs and aching limbs.

As for clothing, food, shelter, and travel, it was all slapdash.

Take bathing, for example. Bathing in the sea was impossible—the salt would cling to your skin after drying, making it even drier. You had to use fresh water to wipe yourself clean.

But ships couldn't store much fresh water, because most of it was needed to wash the deck—seawater corroded wood terribly. If it stayed soaked, fine, but once seawater hit and oxidized, the wood rotted fast. The leftover water would turn stagnant and sour after four or five days, undrinkable.

That was why pirates prized alcohol even more—rum and wine were plant-based. Rum was distilled from sugarcane, and cheap rum contained some vitamins. Wine was even better; the vitamins in wine made by the Church were more abundant than in rum.

Not every ship had a Nami growing oranges on board to ensure the crew got their vitamins.

Now, besides the hundred-plus loaves of bread, Leo had also brought two strips of salted meat and over a hundred bottles of rum, all to ensure their survival.

But when two hooks dropped from the pirate ship, latching onto the iron rings at the front and back of the Lifeboat, and the winch slowly hauled it up, a crowd of pirates waiting eagerly on the deck tried to swarm forward—only to be stopped by Rindou pointing the cannon at her waist at them.

"Get a few clean tables over here. All officers above, come help me. Give me two clean, sharp knives." Leo didn't climb off the Lifeboat but shouted loudly to "Great Bay Blade" William.

"Everyone, stand in two lines," he said to William, then to the restless pirates.

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

After a stir, they finally remembered they were captives and quieted down. Leo nodded to himself—just as he'd thought, these people were exactly what he expected.

Most pirates were the same: brutal, bullying the weak and fearing the strong, and never honest, with their own petty cunning. If they were truly honest or steady, they'd either die under the oppression of the World Government's kingdoms or scrape by under exploitation—there was no other path.

Even a clever girl like Nami, once she had something she cared about held hostage, couldn't escape.

These pirates were mostly people with nothing.

Family, kin, homeland, land, property...

They had nothing!

That was something Leo had suddenly realized the day they begged for mercy.

He'd originally thought of infiltrating the Amazon warrior women, but they didn't meet any conditions for revolutionaries: they had their own fixed assets, and the Amazon Lily Kingdom was already close to great harmony—money circulated internally, but most people didn't use it much, and their material needs were low. This was probably also related to their closed-off nation, low demands on quality of life, and weak trade and exchange with the outside.

They would never be swayed by Leo's "pretty words," because they had no personal experience of hardship. Turning them into great international warriors to liberate all humanity was unrealistic.

So he dropped that idea.

But with the appearance of the Cutlass Pirates, that thought rose again, stronger than ever.

The Kuja Pirates weren't representative—they were a special group.

Like the future Straw Hat Pirates, they were unique, with bonds and lifestyles completely different from ordinary pirates. They couldn't be seen as typical pirates.

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

If Leo convinced them, he would convince the millions of pirates on the ocean, absorb millions of fighting forces. With their support, and after winning over the common people, only then would there be a real chance to overthrow the World Government.

Otherwise, a single Shichibukai could never sustain a war against the World Government.

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

"Anyone who breaks the order won't eat today."

Leo didn't lecture them on grand principles for now. The first lesson he taught them was—discipline.

PS: Not feeling great today, can't write the third chapter. I'll make up for the 3000-recommendation update tomorrow. Just the basic 2 chapters for now.

PS1: Even with only 2 chapters, I'll shamelessly say: Please recommend!