"Interesting argument." The Empress leaned against her pet serpent, Salome, her eyes narrowed as she looked at the man before her.
"But our daughter kingdom is very safe. No matter how big the storm, it's hard to cross the Calm Belt and enter Kuja Island. We're completely out of the loop in this paradise. What right do you have to make me leave this island, leave my own country, and fight for people outside?"
Her words seemed heartless, but they actually went straight to the heart of the matter, making Alistair chuckle bitterly.
That was the problem.
No matter what you said, people like Norman Bethune were ultimately not the mainstream of this world. Those who realized that everyone was being oppressed were a minority of a minority. And those who were willing to fight and sacrifice for these oppressed people were a minority of a minority of a minority.
People like Bethune, Miyagawa Hideo, Robert Shaw, and Hans Sieber, who fought and even sacrificed themselves for their ideals in foreign lands.
Such people were too few, too few...
He couldn't even ask the Empress to do more.
But he didn't understand. Gloriosa turned her head in surprise and looked at the Empress. He didn't know the Empress well, but didn't she? As the one who brought her back to Kuja Island and watched her grow into the Empress of Amazon Lily, Gloriosa knew that she was moved. If not, she would have rejected him with a haughty look, or even had him taken away to be fed to Snake.
But just as she said, though her heart had vaguely agreed with his words, she also expressed her doubts. What reason and necessity did she have to leave Kuja Island and let the islanders' lives be engulfed in war?
Alistair chuckled bitterly, scratched his temples, and suddenly fell silent.
"I used to think the same way." He spread his hands. "When I was free, I didn't speak, because those who became slaves of the Celestial Dragons had nothing to do with me."
"After becoming a slave of the Celestial Dragons, I didn't speak, because I was more favored."
"When those favored slaves were sold, I didn't speak, because I had become the Celestial Dragons' trusted steward."
"But when those Celestial Dragons decided to abandon me, no one spoke for me anymore."
He spoke softly, as if reciting a poem.
This was a poem of warning from Martin Niemöller, a German theologian under Nazi Germany's control: "First They Came..."
Because of the poem's directness, its simple yet philosophical nature, it was studied to some extent in middle and high schools around the world.
Now, he slightly adapted it and used it as a warning poem to warn the Empress without threatening her. It instantly moved the Empress and Gloriosa.
He didn't let them dwell on it, but lowered his head toward them.
"To be honest, this world is all about high-level combat strength." He said, head bowed.
"Don't think I look down on the Yonko and the Three Admirals. But when I actually face them, I might not even have the courage to speak."
"Without high-level combat strength, I, who am weak and unable to fight, not only have to be ten times more careful, but I also have to spend more time accumulating and avoiding the Marines."
"Perhaps I'm just the one who lays the foundation, spreads the ideas, and awakens people. Like Gol D. Roger, I let more people break free from their oppression and head towards the sea of freedom."
"But I'm not willing to accept this." He clenched his fingers tightly on his knees, his veins bulging. "I'm only twenty-eight years old now. I have at least fifty years left. I can completely overthrow the World Government before I die."
"But high-level combat strength is something that can't be cultivated at this stage. It takes a long time to cultivate. Perhaps it takes a lifetime to cultivate a few. I can only use my words, my ideas, and my sincerity to win you over. Only then can you quickly gain this combat strength and fight against the World Government."
"Hmm...~ This concubine is a high-level combatant, you say?" Hancock propped her right hand on her chin and made a nonsensical sound.
"That's right. Even in the New World, your combat strength is actually among the best."
Though she couldn't compare to the Three Disasters under BIG MOM or the Three Disasters under Kaido, she could definitely handle anyone else. In the first half of the Grand Line, she was practically invincible. In fact, Crocodile and Moria might not even be able to beat her. Doflamingo, Kuma, and Jinbe would probably be about equal. After all, she possessed Conqueror's Haki, Observation Haki, Armament Haki, and the Mero Mero no Mi.
She could practically be called a "minion-sweeper" when it came to crushing lower-level fighters.
Even the Marines were probably wary of her. After all, if ordinary Marines encountered her, they would be turned to stone in an instant. She held countless potential seeds hostage.
This was probably why the Marines recruited her.
"Let's stop here for now. This concubine is tired today, I need to bathe and change. Go." She waved her hand dismissively, telling him to leave. Alistair looked up in surprise. What did that mean?
Did she agree or not?
Did she agree or disagree?
What did she mean by "stop here for now"?
Did she want him to leave Kuja Island or just leave her bedroom?
He was confused. They were only halfway through their conversation. Why was he being kicked out now?
Gloriosa's expression remained impassive. Her cane easily knocked Alistair to his feet. He felt a searing pain in his arm, as if his bones were about to break.
The old woman kept hitting him until he was forced to leave. Alistair, who was powerless, could only be forcibly pushed out, and then Gloriosa instructed the Amazonian warriors outside to take him away.
He left the Empress's bedroom with a head full of question marks. He had no idea what the Empress or Gloriosa was thinking. He was simply taken out of the bedroom and into the heart of the daughter kingdom.
Once he was out of the bedroom, he and the guard started to worry. Gloriosa and the Empress had both told them to take him out, but they didn't say whether to keep an eye on him or let him wander freely in Amazon Lily.
As for Alistair, he had given up hope of abducting the Empress. His eyes lit up, and he set his sights on the other Amazonian warriors...
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