A Declaration of Having Nothing
"..."
The entire scene was so quiet it was as if no one existed.
The Spade Pirates, the Marines, Iska, even the Empress and her two sisters standing by the helm, could not understand why Leo had brought this up at a time like this.
No, they could not understand why Leo intended to honor this promise. Pirates cared only about victory and profit. Leo had just led them to a glorious victory, and everyone was still riding high. Bringing this up now was like a bucket of cold water, sobering the pirates up—they were not, in the end, on the same path.
Why bother?
Quite a few people sighed inwardly, while staring unblinkingly at what Leo would do next.
"We agreed that once we left the Calm Belt, you would obey my orders and fight one final battle. Then you would be free."
"Now, you are free," Leo said loudly.
Since no one spoke, they could hear him clearly no matter how loudly he spoke.
"But the story between us is not over yet."
"Fifteen days."
"In fifteen days, you have been completely transformed."
"Do you want to go even further?"
Leo's words were like a devil's whisper, constantly shaking everyone to their core.
The people of this world pursued strength from the depths of their bones, much like Easterners pursued order. Heaven knew how insecure the people of this world were, how desperately they sought power.
But this was wrong...
"Do you think you can become even stronger?"
"Of course, you will become stronger, so long as you do not die and continue sailing these seas."
Leo chuckled. "But what is the point of continuing like this?"
"You are still pirates."
"They are still Marines."
"The Marines capture pirates."
"Pirates kill Marines."
"To you, this seems like the rule that governs the entire world—or rather, an almost unchanging law for your entire lives."
"Don't you think there is something wrong with this world?"
"In this world, shouldn't everyone be able to do what they wanted in their hometowns, pursue the professions they had dreamed of since childhood, and become the people they wished to be?"
"The Marines should be honest and law-abiding, disciplined and strict. They should be loyal to the people, protect the territory, and defend the nation."
"Pirates would naturally disappear from the seas."
"You would become a farmer."
Leo pointed at Barbaro.
"You would become a missionary."
He pointed at another pirate who was usually more studious.
"And you would become a bouncer at a bar."
He pointed at Todlin.
"But now, all of you chose to go to sea and came aboard this pirate ship, fighting for money and using violence to exploit others."
"Is that right?"
"Is it right to create no wealth with your own hands, yet use violence to plunder the wealth of others?"
Leo finally laid his cards on the table, exposing everything before them all.
The Marines trembled from head to toe, wishing they could stand up and loudly support Leo. "Of course it isn't right! That is evil!"
"But who forced you to leave your hometowns, board pirate ships, and become plundering exploiters?"
Leo's next words made nearly every Marine instinctively think, Of course it was other pirates.
But the answers given by the Cutlass Pirates far exceeded the Marines' expectations.
"Barbaro, you speak."
Barbaro stepped forward and shouted, "Report! My family owed a great deal of money. Those landlords wanted our fields and tricked my father into gambling, so my family was ruined. My father was killed, my mother hanged herself, my home was burned down, and my fields were taken away. Homeless and alone, I could only become a pirate."
"Todlin!"
"Report! I was an orphan. I could only become a pirate."
"Wood!"
"Report! The nobles forced me to become a pirate!"
"Chalin!"
"Report! The king did not want to see lowborn people like us anymore!"
"Gabon!"
"Report! Heavenly Gold bankrupted our family!"
One report after another struck the Marines' hearts like heavy hammers.
They had always believed these pirates burned, killed, and looted, committing every evil imaginable, that they deserved to die, and that meeting them meant fighting to the death. Yet they had never asked why they had become pirates.
Now, hearing the pirates' true circumstances as prisoners, they could not have sympathized more deeply.
Who would choose to live by the blade if they had a way to survive?
Other than those with an extreme sense of justice and exceptional integrity, who would set out with the goal of becoming a Marine and fighting pirates to the death?
Hadn't most of them become Marines because they could not survive otherwise, and the Marines offered a relatively respectable profession?
The only difference between them and the pirates was that one had become a Marine while the other had become a pirate.
Even the reasons for their bankruptcy and downfall were remarkably similar. It was as if they were looking at another version of themselves.
"So what is the collective name for the culprits who caused your downfall and turned you into pirates?"
"Exploiters!"
"And you are the exploited."
"These exploiters include landlords, nobles, royalty, corrupt Marines, the World Government, and the Celestial Dragons. They all share one name! Exploiters!"
"As long as these exploiters exist, they will endlessly create people like you, people with nothing."
"You are people with nothing, people without any property. You have nothing, so naturally, you fear nothing!"
"You do not need to fear the Marines! Other than killing you, they have nothing else with which to threaten you!"
"You do not need to fear the Celestial Dragons! Other than enslaving your bodies, they can no longer enslave your free souls and spirits!"
"Everyone, one person's strength is small! But there is strength in numbers! Iron discipline can increase your strength tenfold, a hundredfold. We have already proven that."
"Will you choose to take enough money and return to your hometowns, continuing to be exploited?"
"Or will you pick up weapons now and stake your lives to carve out a bright future for your descendants?"
Leo looked at them, took a few deep breaths, slowly steadied himself, and waited for their answer.
The entire scene was quiet, as though that speech had never been made. But everyone's breathing had grown heavy...
PS: At the opening today, U.S. stocks fell below 2,250 points. A direct 10% circuit breaker was triggered—the fourth circuit breaker in history.
Before you continue