"Princess Vivi actually knows about Pluton?"
Rorschach looked in surprise at this little girl, who was even a head shorter than Hibari.
It was the year 1517. Vivi, currently, should be only thirteen years old, the same age as Hibari, but she looked a bit more innocent than Hibari.
Vivi nodded. "When I was little, Father told me stories about Pluton. But the Alabasta Kingdom doesn't have the legendary Pluton battleship; it's just a legend from many years ago."
"Princess Vivi," Rorschach looked at the stubborn girl, a hint of pity in his eyes. "For a madman desperately seeking ultimate power, even a flimsy legend like that is enough, wouldn't you say?"
Vivi was stunned again. Her expression changed, her dry lips parted, and she suddenly knelt straight down before Rorschach, startling him. He quickly reached out and helped the girl to her feet.
"Princess Vivi, what are you doing?"
"Rear Admiral Rorschach..." Vivi's voice trembled, tinged with a panicked sob, tears welling in her eyes as she pleaded, "I want to ask for your help for my country, to help Alabasta resist Crocodile. This country has suffered enough disasters over the years. Countless people have died in continuous droughts, people are displaced, their homes destroyed. It can no longer endure greater devastation from war. I... I, on behalf of the Nefertari Royal Family, implore the Marines to help us!"
With that, she was about to kneel again.
This moved all the Marine soldiers on the Killion.
Nefertari Vivi, she was the Princess of the Alabasta Kingdom.
Although the Alabasta Kingdom's national situation hadn't been good in recent years, it was still one of the foremost great nations among all affiliated countries of the World Government.
The ancestors of Nefertari were even among the Twenty Kings who founded the world.
A princess of such a large kingdom held a position even higher than that of kings of other affiliated nations.
Yet now, to save her country, such a high-ranking princess had abandoned her royal dignity and knelt directly.
How could such an action not move and impress people?
"Princess Vivi, please don't do that. Your request, I grant it."
Rorschach, holding the Den Den Mushi, stood in front of Vivi, instinctively treating the girl like Hibari, reaching out and patting her small head.
"Don't worry. Since I'm here, I can't pretend not to see it. Besides, I haven't settled the score for Lieutenant Commander Tina's severe injuries with him yet."
Vivi looked up at Rorschach's gentle smile, and the panic and despair that had been rising in her heart were instantly soothed by an invisible force.
She felt a powerful sense of security.
Rorschach was too tall.
His imposing 2.8-meter frame was almost double Vivi's height.
Normally, such a significant height difference would cause a strong psychological pressure.
But at this moment, Vivi felt no such pressure at all.
Instead, there was an inexplicable sense of peace.
It was as if, with this young man beside her, no matter what difficulties or powerful enemies they faced, nothing could ever harm her.
"Rorschach! Don't be rash!" Sengoku, who had remained silent until now, suddenly said in a deep voice, "Crocodile is an ally recognized by the World Government, one of the Shichibukai. Without permission from above, we Marines absolutely cannot lay a hand on an ally."
"Ally? Heh." Rorschach laughed.
He laughed with exasperation.
"Old man, Lieutenant Commander Tina was severely injured by the Sand Crocodile's own hand. And now you're telling me he's our ally? If I couldn't fly, if our reinforcements hadn't arrived in time, I dread to think what would have happened to Lieutenant Commander Tina and the others."
"Don't act on impulse! Tina isn't alright, is she? Although the Sand Crocodile's actions were a bit extreme, he's not guilty enough to warrant death. No, we Marines simply don't have the authority to attack him. If you unilaterally attack an ally without authorization from above, or without absolute evidence, do you even understand what the consequences will be?"
Sengoku's voice became somewhat stern.
His deep, husky voice echoed across the Killion's deck, making all the warriors on board pale and too afraid to even breathe.
"I don't need to understand!"
Rorschach, for the first time, talked back to Sengoku. His bright blue eyes, devoid of their usual gentleness, were filled with sharp coldness.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku! Don't you think the powers of these Shichibukai are a bit too great? With the legal right to plunder the seas, they dare to do anything. They use despicable means to usurp countries, openly pillage, sell slaves, and smuggle weapons. What was the purpose of establishing this force in the first place?"
Rorschach raised his voice, his tone firm and resolute, making all the Marine soldiers on the ship tense up.
"It was to counterbalance the Yonko in the New World! Not to create more Yonko!"
"Don't you see what Doflamingo's Donquixote Family is doing now? They're making artificial Devil Fruits, openly doing business with Kaido of the Beasts. Is that counterbalancing the Yonko? Isn't that just expanding the Yonko's power?! Jinbe sided with Whitebeard and became Whitebeard's son.
You haven't forgotten what Mihawk used to do, have you?
Marine Hunter! How many Marine generals died by his hand in the past? Look how few powerful swordsmen are left among our current Marine generals. How many excellent Marine generals did he hunt down to hone his swordsmanship?"
Rorschach's voice was deafening, causing all the warriors on the ship to involuntarily grit their teeth and clench their fists.
"Crocodile completely messed up a perfectly good Alabasta. He brought in illegal items like Dance Powder, causing this once prosperous desert kingdom to suffer years of drought and misery, killing how many people? Now he's inciting a nationwide war. On the surface, he still masquerades as the country's hero, the desert's guardian god. You say such a hypocritical bastard, can we still count on him to stand on our side and fight the Yonko? Bullshit! If he really gets the Pluton battleship, the first shot he fires will be at our Marine branch in Paradise!"
Vivi stared at him in a daze, as if seeing Rorschach for the first time.
Sengoku was left speechless by Rorschach's words.
Rorschach, however, looked at the many warriors on the Killion, at Law, Enel, at Hibari who had stepped out of the captain's cabin, and at Vivi.
"I think these Shichibukai, who are used to being arrogant, still haven't grasped one fact.
That is, the titles on their heads were bestowed upon them by us! If we wanted to, we could even give a pig the legal right to plunder the seas!
Some people's hands reach too far; they need to be cut off. They need to be shown what they can and cannot do.
I think it's time for a warning to others, to make an example, and operate on a Shichibukai."
Rorschach spoke calmly, but his words, heard by the many Marine soldiers, were filled with immense courage.
Which ordinary Marine general would dare to suggest operating on a Shichibukai, whom countless people on the sea revere and fear?
Sengoku was somewhat losing his cool.
He never expected Rorschach to dare to utterly disparage the Shichibukai system.
And he even wanted to use Crocodile to establish the Marines' authority.
Such a thought was truly...
Bold and audacious enough!
But he couldn't let Rorschach do that.
Although Sengoku believed in Rorschach's strength, capable of completely overwhelming Crocodile.
However, if the Marines were to attack a Shichibukai, and were later held accountable by the higher-ups, and the other Shichibukai caused a commotion, even if Rorschach could remain in the Marines, his future path of promotion would probably be suppressed by the World Government.
So, Sengoku immediately earnestly persuaded, "Rorschach! Don't be impulsive. I know you're angry, but Crocodile truly cannot be touched. At least, not before we have irrefutable evidence. "
Vivi suddenly grabbed Rorschach's wrist, bringing the Den Den Mushi he held to her lips.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku! This is Vivi! Crocodile organized Baroque Works to disrupt the Alabasta Kingdom. He let his assassin, Bon Kurei, impersonate my father and kill innocent children, inciting hatred between the royal family and the people, starting a war, and attempting to obtain the non-existent Pluton battleship—this is a fact! Please, Fleet Admiral Sengoku, take charge and help us."
"Princess Vivi..." Sengoku was stunned, not expecting Vivi to have the courage to speak to him like that.
He sighed, "Princess Vivi, what you're saying is based on our Marine intelligence and speculation; it's not irrefutable proof. You say Crocodile is the mastermind behind Baroque Works, do you have evidence? You say he started the war, but he hasn't directly attacked your Nefertari Royal Family, has he? You talk about the Pluton battleship, but even you said it's a completely baseless thing, perhaps non-existent. So, how can something non-existent serve as evidence to prove that Crocodile is the culprit behind all these disasters?"
Hearing Sengoku's deep voice, Vivi froze, her face instantly turning incredibly pale.
She released Rorschach's wrist, her small body stumbled a few steps, and she softly leaned against the ship's rail behind her, her eyes hollow, and she said despondently, "But, but it's all his doing. Is there no way to justly punish someone who has committed such grave crimes?"
Sengoku was silent for a while before finally saying:
"Unless you can find irrefutable evidence, or make Crocodile confess his crimes himself."
"Make Crocodile confess his crimes himself?"
How could that be possible?
If he truly was the mastermind behind all these disasters in Alabasta, how could he suddenly have a change of heart and confess his crimes?
Vivi shook her head dejectedly, slowly sliding to the ground.
Rorschach brought the Den Den Mushi to his lips and said in a deep voice, "I'll make him confess it himself."
At these words, everyone on the ship turned their gaze to Rorschach.
"Don't be reckless! Rorschach, kid, listen..." Sengoku was anxious, still trying to persuade him.
But Rorschach had already hung up the Den Den Mushi.
Law, who had been silently listening, suddenly stepped forward and shook his head slightly at Rorschach. "Perhaps, you really shouldn't be reckless. If you move against an ally of the World Government, even if your connections are strong, your future days will be very difficult."
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. I said I'd make Crocodile confess his crimes himself." Rorschach's lips curved into an unrestrained smile.
Law looked at him for a long time, and realizing that Rorschach wasn't joking, he finally nodded lightly and said in a low voice, "How do you plan to do it?"
Vivi, sitting on the ground, slowly looked up at Rorschach, a hint of hope appearing in her eyes.
Meeting everyone's gaze, Rorschach grinned, showing a very sunny smile, like a boy next door.
"That guy Crocodile wants the Pluton battleship, right? Then we'll give him a Pluton battleship!"
(End of Chapter)
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