Having lived through war, they should have long since understood that some sacrifices were inevitable if they wanted peace.
If they did not go through this now, it would surely happen another time.
Only pain that cut to the bone and pierced the heart would leave a lasting impression and help people grow.
"You can save them for a time, but you can't save them forever. They need trials like this to grow," Zebu explained her view.
"But..."
"That growth doesn't necessarily have to come at the cost of death..."
"I could have appeared and driven those pirates away once they fully understood their mistake."
"Instead of letting them die..."
"That price..."
"Was far too steep."
For a moment, Xiu Yuan's words left Zebu unable to argue.
He was right.
When the pirates arrived on Watatsumi Island.
When everyone understood the truth.
Destroying the pirates then would still have helped those people grow and taught them a lesson.
Death did not have to be the path to growth.
"But you weren't the reason this happened. If you hadn't been here, the consequences would only have been worse."
"You've already saved the vast majority of them. Why not look at them instead?"
Unable to refute him, Zebu began trying to persuade Xiu Yuan from another angle.
"Shogun..." Xiu Yuan said.
"What?" she asked.
"Have you heard of the lone calamity fate?"
"I bear that fate. Anyone who gets close to me suffers misfortune."
Xiu Yuan could convince others that everyone had the right to happiness, that no one was born to be alone.
But he could never convince himself.
Perhaps Xiu Yuan was the one who was born to be alone.
Perhaps he should not have grown so close to these people. All he needed to do was hide in the