The Great Voyage: The Props Master on the Straw Hat Ship

"I remember that country has already perished and been destroyed."

"Ah, not only is the country gone, but all the common people, except for the royal family, have also died."

Luo took a deep breath, a glint of hatred flashing in his eyes, "Including my sister and my parents."

"And all of this is the work of what you call the champion of justice, the World Government!!"

He glanced at the silent man and smiled, his tone laced with sarcasm.

Flevance, the "white town," is the hometown of Robert.

This country possesses something called amber lead, which has brought wealth to the nation.

Moreover, due to the presence of amber lead within the country, the ground and trees are as pure white as an ice and snow kingdom in a fairy tale. As a result, it is a country so beautiful that it seems like a fairyland on earth, and is known as the "White Town".

Fryvanus amassed a vast fortune through amber lead, unaware that it contained a deadly toxin.

A hundred years ago, the World Government had conducted an on-site investigation in Flevans, and they already knew the truth at that time.

However, in order to obtain this endless wealth, the world government and the royal families of the countries concealed the truth, leading to the deaths of citizens from lead poisoning.

When the lead poisoning could no longer be concealed, the World Government declared it a highly contagious disease, prompting its personnel and agents to launch a massacre against all residents of Flevans.

At the same time, it arranged for other countries in the vicinity that were eager to make trouble to launch wars against it, so as to completely drown out these evils.

Ultimately, the nation's citizens were shot and killed in the war, and Luo's parents and sister also perished in this atrocity.

Only Luo, a commoner, survived the pile of dead.

"And apart from me, all the people arranged by the World Government, as well as the royal family of Flevans, survived peacefully and moved to another country to continue their pleasures."

"Nobles..."

After recounting everything from the past, Luo, who hadn't been able to confide in someone so freely in a long time, said softly:

"Does such a world government represent justice in the world?"

"If that's really the case, then it's absolutely hilarious."

Perhaps others are criticizing the World Government, but that's more likely due to a rebellious attitude or simply a way of expressing their dissatisfaction with the World Government.

But for Law, he is a true victim of the World Government.

Moreover, it is a typical case of a family being destroyed and its members dying.

Yi Xiao wouldn't refute it, nor could he.

The reason he closed his eyes was because there was too much filth and darkness in the world.

It's not just the dark faction of criminals like pirates who represent evil on the high seas.

And those who claim to be righteous, or even those who represent justice themselves, do such shocking things, which makes Yixiao even more unable to accept them.

Because criminals commit evil deeds, they will be despised, hated, and condemned by everyone.

But if such a power seizes the discourse and becomes evil while on the side of justice, the harm it brings to the sea and its people will be even more severe.

"So you're thinking that if you have the opportunity, you can start from the top, gain power and status, and then lead by example to change the atmosphere of the Navy and even the World Government from the top down, right?"

Link's voice echoed in Xiao's ears, causing him to pause slightly.

"Ah, that's exactly what I was thinking."

Yi Xiao nodded without much pretense.

His tone was noticeably less resolute than before, especially after hearing Luo's tragic story.

286's bet with Issho! I'm betting my entire pirate career on this!

"Let's put aside whether you, Uncle Issho, can actually get into the upper echelons of the World Government and the Navy. Even if you could, let's take the Navy as an example, not the World Government."

Link crossed his arms and carefully analyzed the situation with Yixiao:

“Uncle Yixiao, you have never joined the Navy before, which means you are essentially an outsider. You can’t compare to those loyal members who have been with the Navy since childhood and whose backgrounds you know well.”

"Even if you join the Navy, Uncle Issho, the highest position you can reach is only Admiral, who is in charge of his own department. Don't even think about the Fleet Admiral, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, or high-ranking officials in the World Government. You should be able to understand that, Uncle Issho, right?"

"This is natural"

He smiled and nodded slightly, "I don't believe I have the ability or qualifications to become a Fleet Admiral."

"In that case, let's take the admirals as an example. There are currently four people with the rank of admiral, but only the so-called three admirals are active in the field."

Link gave examples one by one:

"Kizaru, Aokiji, and Akainu, as well as Zephyr, who retains the rank of Admiral but has now become an instructor."

"They seem very powerful, wielding immense power and status, but..."

Link chuckled. "Just because you're a Marine Admiral, does that really mean you can change the Navy as a whole?!"

"Don't forget, we're just inviting these three Celestial Dragons here for tea, and a Marine Admiral will rush over without stopping. We still can't escape the scope of serving these scumbags."

Even the Admirals, who are touted as the strongest fighters, are nothing more than bodyguards running errands for the Celestial Dragons.

He was very direct, revealing the true nature of a naval admiral.

"Moreover, even at the level of a naval admiral, their understanding of justice varies."

"Some naval admirals believe that ensuring the safety of civilians and protecting them from harm is the most important principle, and that for this reason, it is acceptable to let one or two pirates go."

"Some admirals believe it's better to kill the innocent than let the guilty go free, because if a vicious pirate escapes, it will cause another upheaval on the high seas, affecting even more people. If necessary, they will even kill civilians to uphold their iron-fisted justice..."

As Link spoke, Robin couldn't help but awkwardly rub her arms.

She clearly remembered that when Akainu was still a vice admiral, he bombarded and sank all the ships carrying civilians from Ohara.

The civilians on it were also swallowed up by the sea.

Fortunately, she was disliked and driven away by the villagers and didn't get on the boat, otherwise...

"Neither of these two philosophies is absolutely right or wrong; they even have some merit, but they are completely opposite beliefs." "Even the naval admirals hold beliefs that are in great conflict with each other. Expecting them to better uphold justice..." "Tsk tsk, Uncle Yixiao, how about we make a bet?"

Link suddenly snapped his fingers, bringing about an abrupt turn of events.

He was listening attentively to Link's analysis and explanation, and found it quite reasonable. He smiled to himself as he pondered it, but was taken aback when he heard this.

"A bet? What kind of bet? 々々!"

"I'm betting that within a year, a Marine Admiral will leave the Navy because he no longer accepts the World Government's justice!"

Link held up one finger and smiled.

"The wager is that you, Mr. Issho, will now teach Luffy and the others a higher level of Observation Haki. If any Marine Admiral leaves the Marines within the next year, then the wager will be fulfilled ahead of schedule."

"If no admiral leaves the Navy, then I will personally hunt down ten pirates with bounties higher than mine and whose hands are stained with blood."

"And after it's done, I'll personally surrender to the Navy. What do you think of that?"

Link's lips curled slightly. "I'm betting my pirate career on you, Uncle Yixiao."

"Hey, Link!!"

Usopp and Nami were immediately startled, and even Law looked at Link with surprise.

"You're talking about..."

Chopper panicked and tried to stop them, but before he could take two steps, he was grabbed by several flowery hands.

"You have to trust Link!"

Robin's laughter echoed in his ears, "The first mate has never let us down."

"He must have his own reasons for doing this; after all, he still wants to reach the end of the Grand Line with us~~"

"Is...is that so?!"

Chopper turned his head hesitantly, only to find that Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji didn't show any other expression.

They all seemed to trust Link completely.

Although I don't know why Link is so confident, if he says it's true, then it definitely will be true!!

The trio all had absolute faith in Link!

Seeing this, Chopper gradually put his mind at ease again.

"That's quite audacious, actually risking a naval admiral and himself for a high-stakes gamble..."

Rayleigh suddenly felt an itch to join in the betting.

Unfortunately, he didn't have any relevant chips.

"Gambling with a naval admiral and himself..."

Yi Xiao also raised her head seriously, facing Link directly:

"No wonder he's the kind of man who would do something as crazy as kidnapping a Celestial Dragon. He's willing to pay such a price for his comrades..."

He said slowly, "I must admit, I am indeed somewhat tempted."

"Whether it's the fate of those ten pirates with higher bounties than you, or the change in the naval admirals that I can sense from your extremely confident tone..."

"This is truly the biggest gamble I've ever been involved in."

"but……"

Yixiao shook his head and said, "Teaching you advanced application techniques of Observation Haki is to participate in this battle that can affect the situation and direction of the entire ocean, and concerns the lives of millions."

"Once your strength increases and you help Whitebeard rescue Portgas D. Ace, enabling the pirates to win this victory, if that incites the pirates to rise up, then my sins will be immense..."

K [ONE PIECE] is a real entity.

Before Yixiao could finish speaking, Link interrupted him softly.

"……What did you say?"

"I said, this is the sentence that Whitebeard would definitely say before he died."

Seeing the somewhat surprised look on Yixiao's face, Link chuckled and said:

"If the Navy wins this battle and Whitebeard dies a tragic death, he, as a member of the old era, will surely use his own experience as an opportunity to usher in a new era."

"Just like the Pirate King Roger, he used his own execution to announce the news of the One Piece to the world, thus ushering in the Great Pirate Era."

"And now, if Whitebeard, who lived in the same era as Roger, is also coming to an end, do you think he will also pay tribute to Roger in the same way, to bid farewell to himself?"

"So, if the legend of the 'Great Treasure,' which had been dormant for twenty years and whose belief had gradually waned, is confirmed by Whitebeard's words..."

Link smiled and said, word by word, "And what kind of waves do you think this will cause on this vast ocean?"

"Was he truly intimidated by the Navy? Or did he choose to do so because he no longer had the power to suppress Whitebeard, the strongest pirate, and had learned of the existence of the One Piece..."

"Will their ecstatic voyage usher in a new era of great pirates?"

As Link finished speaking the last word, a scene immediately flashed into everyone's mind.

Pirates are pirates because of their lawless and fearless nature.

If Whitebeard could really say those words...

Everyone shuddered at the same time.

What Link said could actually happen!!

Yi Xiao remained silent for a long while after hearing this, and Link added fuel to the fire:

"If you don't believe me, you can ask Mr. Rayleigh if Whitebeard would say that."

"Well, based on my decades-long friendship with Whitebeard and my understanding of him..."

Rayleigh scratched his itch. "When the time comes, he really will say something like that."

The situation is now quite clear.

"so……"

A smile involuntarily tightened his grip on the cane-sword in his hand. "Regardless of whether the Navy or Whitebeard wins this battle..."

"In the end, it is the inhabitants of the sea who suffer."

Link continued, "In my hometown, there's a saying: 'When the country prospers, the people suffer; when the country falls, the people suffer.'"

"So whether you teach advanced applications of Observation Haki or not doesn't really have much impact on the final outcome of this battle."

Link paused, then added fuel to the fire:

"How about we raise the stakes a bit more?"