"He just gave in like that?", Even though it was already night, Moa still found it unbelievable.
'The Figarland family actually gave in like that?'
They had their door smashed open, their front gate blown apart, and in the end, it was the beaten side who came to apologize? How ridiculous was that?
"What do you want then? Want me to kill him?", Rosse was half-lying down, his right hand gently caressing Moa's back. The corner of his lips lifted slightly with a trace of amusement.
"No, I mean... shouldn't they at least act tougher?", Moa hurriedly shook her head. Just hearing Rosse say that already terrified her.
In truth, she didn't have a clear understanding of Rosse's real strength.
When Rosse went out to sea before, he either didn't take her, or when he did, she was too weak to really see what he was capable of.
Having spent so much time among the Revolutionary Army, she did know a few things.
But her understanding was limited to knowing that Rosse crushed pirates. As for going up against the Figarland family, also Celestial Dragons, Moa had thought that, if not evenly matched, at least they wouldn't be completely crushed.
But the facts proved she had overestimated them.
Rosse had literally torn down their family's front gate, and yet Saint Garling personally came to apologize afterward.
If she had known the Figarlands were this useless, she would have rather disbanded the Revolutionary Army than cooperate with them.
"Why should they act tough? Their entire family doesn't even have a few top-tier powerhouses. To put it bluntly, without relying on the World Government, they can't even beat the Neo Marines," Rosse said calmly.
It wasn't that he was too strong. It was that the Figarlands were too weak.
The strong one was the World Government. The strong one was the one sitting on the throne.
The Figarland family alone? He could toy with them however he wanted.
And the facts showed, if they had been the ones to strike first, Imu wouldn't have interfered. In fact, Imu was probably blaming Saint Garling in his heart.
At least for now, Imu didn't want the balance to be broken.
If it had to be broken, that would come twenty years later, on the day fate itself decided victory or defeat.
After all, what was happening now was an internal struggle. The reincarnation of Nika was the true enemy.
No matter who won between them, the victor would still be the World Government. Only the loser would be personally purged.
But if the reincarnated Nika won... that would be another story.
"Then... does that mean I can walk around with my head held high now? Feels like you're already invincible," Moa said playfully, testing him.
She thought she was hiding it perfectly. At least Rosse and the others didn't know she was still secretly helping the Revolutionary Army.
If Rosse was truly so strong that no one could defeat him, then she would have to lay low for a while.
At least until she could fight him on equal ground, she had better not stir up trouble.
"Invincible? Not quite. But as long as you're within the Holy Land, anyone you can beat, you can bully however you like."
Rosse gave Moa a glance. Of course he knew what she was thinking. His hand suddenly twisted down hard.
"Ah!"
Moa's eyes rolled back in pain. That spot of hers was already redder than a monkey's backside. With Rosse doing that again, she almost fainted from the sting.
"Even Celestial Dragons?", Her gaze grew hazy as she looked at Rosse, continuing to test him.
"As long as they're not from our family, there's no difference between a Celestial Dragon and a commoner," Rosse said coolly, "Right, since you're more familiar with the Revolutionary Army, you'll be leading the operation to hunt them down. Vanessa will protect you. Once you locate them, I'll come over myself."
"Me? I can't, I'm not capable of that!", Moa quickly shook her head. She had already leaked information inside the Holy Land. If she now led the mission to capture Dragon, what would the older members of the Revolutionary Army think?
She knew well that those veterans vaguely suspected her true identity.
"I'm not asking," Rosse said flatly, "A pursuit-type Devil Fruit user will assist you. I don't expect you to capture Dragon himself, but his three lieutenants, you will find all of them for me."
Rosse's hand slid to her front, and as Moa gasped, the pressure gradually increased.
Rosse never showed her any mercy.
Her heart wasn't his, so her body? He would treat it however he pleased.
"I-I got it...", Moa didn't dare refuse any longer. She nodded quickly.
She didn't even dare ask what would happen if she failed.
From what she knew of Rosse, the outcome would definitely be miserable.
"Good. Get ready. The expedition team will depart tomorrow. Figarland will assist you in locating Dragon."
Rosse released her hand, slowly got up from the bed, gave his orders like it was nothing, and walked straight out, without the slightest trace of attachment.
They'd had their fun, and he'd said what he needed to say.
"Rosse!"
Watching his back as he left, Moa's eyes filled with complicated emotion.
If her experience had been like Stella's, if the one who had saved her first had been Rosse instead of Dragon, how great that would have been.
At this point, Moa no longer knew what was good or bad.
Her dream had been to liberate the oppressed and erase injustice.
That was also Dragon's original dream. Back then, they had believed Rosse was their enemy, a tyrant who wanted to enslave the world.
But over time, Moa discovered that wasn't entirely true.
Rosse was an oppressor, and Dragon was an idealist.
But under Rosse's rule, the world was visibly prospering. Rosse allowed only himself to oppress others, treating everyone else as his private property.
He was undoubtedly the embodiment of evil. Yet under his domination, the people actually suffered less oppression, and life visibly improved.
Meanwhile, Dragon kept shouting about revolution, about overthrowing the World Government and freeing the world.
But gradually, Moa realized something tragic, even if Dragon succeeded, the world would only fall into greater chaos.
In Dragon's imagined world, it would still be a paradise for the strong and hell for the weak, no different, in essence, from Rosse's.
If both were the same in essence, and Dragon's revolution would only lead to countless deaths along the way, then what reason did she have to keep going?
Even Moa herself no longer knew what she was holding on for.
Maybe it was hatred for Dragon. Maybe hatred for Rosse. Or maybe... she just didn't want either of them to win.
Lying weakly on the bed, Moa gently touched her body, covered in red marks, her eyes filled with self-mockery.
'What a pity... that our first meeting had to be as enemies.'
Since the past couldn't be changed, she could only walk this path to the end.
Moa quietly took out a Den Den Mushi and finally dialed the Revolutionary Army's line.
Even though she was to remain Rosse's enemy, she couldn't openly disobey his orders.
But in secret, she would pass the information along, let Dragon and the others prepare, and be ready for Figarland's betrayal.
As for the outcome, Moa could already guess it.
Most likely, it would be the same old story, Dragon abandoning his comrades again.
Even with a whole ship of people, not even Dragon could escape.
'Dragon... you're going to end up alone again, aren't you?'
At that thought, a flicker of satisfaction flashed through Moa's eyes.
She hated Rosse, the murderer.
But she hated Dragon even more. The man who saved her, and then weakly abandoned her.