Faced with Loa's domineering declaration, the others felt nothing but admiration and awe. Only this living legend could make such a statement as though he stood above the world!
"All right. Since you've decided to go, I'll head back and prepare a few more contingency plans. That way, we'll always have an ace up our sleeve if we need to walk away from the table."
That was Simon. He was strong now, but there was still a considerable gap between him and people like Crocodile. His role had shifted from Loa's Sniper to the strategist under his command.
As a strategist, he naturally had to consider these things.
Before leaving, though, Simon added, "If possible, try to resolve things through discussion. With the power you have now, they're bound to think twice."
The fall of the Dragon People would inevitably unleash turmoil across the world. How many would die? How many of them would be ordinary people? Given a choice, Simon did not want to see the entire sea stained red with blood.
At that, Loa sat back down, a strange smile on his face.
"If reason worked, what would we need violence for?"
"Violence can't solve every problem, true. But in this world, without it, you can't solve anything."
Simon rolled his eyes helplessly. He had no answer to that.
After all, weren't the two Invitation Letters on the table there because of Loa's power?
The argument made sense, yet somehow, it still felt wrong.
After the meeting, Loa asked Crocodile to stay behind. Together, they carefully read through the material Vegapunk had given Loa—material that could greatly strengthen the forces under his command.
The thick stack was, in fact, just an experimental report. At first glance, it looked no different from the reports Ratchet produced during his usual