"It's been a long time, Shanks."
Makino's voice drifted over on the wind, gentle but without a trace of emotion.
She rested quietly in Rosse's embrace. Those eyes that had once always held a warm smile were now watching the Red Hair Pirates before her with a complicated expression.
It had only been a few days since they last met, yet it felt as though centuries had passed.
Her past had been spent in that little tavern in Foosha Village.
The sound of wooden mugs clinking together, the hearty laughter of the regulars, and the warm afternoon sunlight... those days had been happy and fulfilling, yet they were like still water, repeating day after day until even the passing of time went unnoticed.
But this time, in just a few short days, she had been forced to open her eyes and glimpse the truth of this world.
Every day, an overwhelming amount of new information was reshaping both her mind and body.
The abrupt change in status from village woman to where she now stood still left her feeling as though she were walking on clouds, unreal in every way.
"Yeah, it has been a long time."
Shanks lowered his eyes. His red hair fell over his forehead, casting a heavy shadow.
He slowly stepped forward, passing his injured companions until he stood alone at the very front.
Click!
A faint but grating sound.
Shanks's rough left hand had already settled on Griffin at his waist, his thumb slowly pushing the guard aside.
That vigilant posture drew a clearer line than any words could.
At this moment, he no longer trusted the familiar yet unfamiliar woman before him.
"Why?"
Looking at the whitened knuckles of his hand, sorrow passed through Makino's eyes. She instinctively took a step forward.
Rosse did not stop her. He merely wore an amused smile as he casually released the arm around her waist.
"Why does everyone have to die?"
A trace of pleading finally entered Makino's voice.
"Wouldn't it be better... to just give up?"
"Give up? Makino, what do you mean?"
Shanks suddenly looked up, his eyes fixed on Makino as she approached.
From her appearance, she was still the gentle tavern owner he knew, still the woman who had haunted his dreams countless nights.
'Then why?'
'Why does the pity in her eyes make me feel so unfamiliar, as though I have fallen into an icy abyss?'
"There's no hope, Shanks."
Makino stopped walking. The sea breeze shook her skirt as she looked at the battered Red Hair Pirates and gently shook her head.
"Your resistance is destined to fail. And the world of freedom you're pursuing is destined to be a world of chaos and tragedy. Even now... don't you understand?"
Looking at Shanks's suddenly shrunk pupils and the hostility rising from his body, how could Makino not know what he was thinking?
But at this moment, she truly bore no ill will.
All she wanted was to avoid watching these former friends become corpses before her eyes.
Nothing more.
"Makino... has Rosse brainwashed you?"
Shanks took a deep breath of the blood-scented sea air, forcing down the stabbing pain in his heart. He suddenly turned toward Rosse, his bloodshot eyes fixed on him.
"Hey! Rosse! With your strength, killing me wouldn't be difficult! So why use such a despicable method to brainwash a woman? Is trampling on someone else's will really that amusing to you?"
"An interesting reaction indeed."
Faced with Shanks's anger, Rosse did not even twitch an eyebrow.
Standing calmly atop the reef, he smiled faintly at him, "Why do you think I brainwashed Makino? Or is it that, in your eyes..."
Rosse's gaze drifted lightly toward Hongo.
"I've brainwashed your companion as well?"
"Bastard! I knew it!"
Yasopp, who had been trapped in panic and guilt the whole time, suddenly seemed to grab onto a lifeline and jumped to his feet.
Pointing at Hongo, he shouted with excitement, spittle flying everywhere. His twisted face was filled with joy at believing he had guessed correctly.
"So the World Government really did secretly buy Hongo off! He gave in! He betrayed us!"
"YASOPP! GET BACK!"
Shanks let out a roar like an enraged lion, shaking the surrounding leaves.
He did not look back at Yasopp's ridiculous expression. His gaze remained locked on Rosse.
"Hongo is just tired. He has the right to make his own choice. But Makino is different. You definitely forced her!"
"Oh?"
Rosse chuckled and turned to Makino.
"Makino, did I force you to do anything?"
"No."
Makino gently shook her head.
She turned toward Shanks, meeting the gaze that looked as though it wanted to devour her. Her eyes were clear and open.
"I only saw the truth of this world. Shanks, what do you think is the most important thing in this world?"
She did not care what misunderstandings Shanks had about her.
From the moment she decided to stand here, she had known Shanks would look at her with disappointment, perhaps even disgust.
But it no longer mattered.
As long as everyone could stay alive, even living like dogs was better than dying.
"Freedom, equality, and fairness!"
Shanks gripped the hilt of his sword tightly, his voice heavy as iron.
"If this world doesn't have those things, then it'll just keep rotting away like mud!"
"Freedom? What kind of freedom?", Makino's expression was frighteningly calm.
If this had been back in the little tavern, while Shanks sat with a mug of beer talking to her about these things, she would surely have rested her chin in one hand and listened with admiration.
But now, after her visit to the Holy Land, those romantic words that had once captivated her sounded so pale.
"Everyone has the freedom to do whatever they want! Everyone has the freedom to pursue their dreams!", Shanks declared without hesitation.
He could clearly see that after hearing those words, the last trace of warmth in Makino's eyes completely disappeared, replaced by undisguised mockery.
"Everyone? Does that include pirates too?"
Makino smiled, though there was some helplessness in it.
"Of course! Pirates sail freely across the seas, chasing romance and dreams. What's wrong with that?"
Shanks raised his head. Conqueror's Haki faintly surged around him, making even the surrounding air grow tense.
"Then..."
Makino suddenly raised her voice. A sharpness unlike anything before burst from her gentle eyes, piercing straight into Shanks's soul.
"Do you also think that Yasopp destroying Usopp's family is freedom? That pirates burning, killing, looting, and leaving innocent villages covered in corpses is also the freedom you're talking about?"
"That..."
It was as though someone had struck Shanks squarely in the chest. His breathing caught.
He opened his mouth. After a long silence, he replied in a dry voice, "There will always be evil people in this world... Even if they weren't pirates, they wouldn't suddenly become good."
"I used to think the same."
Makino withdrew her piercing gaze, took a deep breath, and returned to that calm tone that sent chills down one's spine.
"But have you really looked into the crime rates in the South, West, and North Blues today?"
Looking straight into Shanks's eyes, she slowly dropped a shocking revelation.
"This year, the South Blue, West Blue, and North Blue have already achieved a crime rate of zero."
"How could it be zero? That's impossible!"
Shanks denied it outright, his brows knitted into a deep frown, "Those are fake numbers made up by the World Government. It's just the illusion they want you to see!"
If Makino had said there were several thousand crimes a year, he might barely have believed it.
But zero crime? That completely went against human nature.
"The World Government has already achieved complete surveillance coverage across the other three seas and the Red Line."
Makino ignored his objection and continued, "And you should have heard about the World Government's current laws."
"Those who steal, rob, rape, murder, or kill others: Death."
"Those who evade taxes or refuse government supervision: Death."
"Those who violate the World Government's administrative regulations: Death."
There were no prisons or fines in the legal code Rosse had established.
Cross the line, and you were erased.
"Hah..."
Beckman, who had remained silent until now, blew out a thick cloud of smoke and spoke in a hoarse voice.
"If the common people can't survive in the first place, who cares about the World Government's death penalty? If death is waiting either way, someone will always risk everything just to fill their stomach."
As a smart man, he understood the limits of harsh laws.
They could deter those who still wanted to live, but not those who were already desperate.
"So why are you so arrogant as to assume they can't survive?"
Pressing her lips together, Makino revealed the shocking truth she had only learned after arriving in the Holy Land.
"In the other three seas and on the Red Line, ordinary people do need to work if they want a better life. But absolutely, absolutely no one dies from poverty anymore, whether from hunger or illness."
"Anyone who gets sick receives completely free medical treatment, with every expense paid directly by the World Government treasury."
"Anyone too poor to afford food can go to their local World Government office at any time to receive food vouchers, guaranteeing enough to eat every day."
Makino took a deep breath. A complicated light flickered in her eyes.
Under Rosse's rule, this world simply did not lack food.
The World Government's Science Department had even developed sea rice that could be grown in seawater.
Its taste was rougher, but the harvest was enough to feed ten times the current population.
"Once people's basic survival is guaranteed, they begin to value their lives."
Makino said softly, "Some people may still want to commit crimes for a better life, but once they know the only price for breaking the law is death, they'll think twice."
"After the first few waves of brave fools and reckless idiots were all killed, no one in the Three Blues dares to commit crimes anymore."
"After all, if someone really has ability, what can't they obtain by going to the Red Line? Why seek death instead?"
"This... can't be..."
The hand gripping Shanks's sword trembled slightly. He could not believe any of this was real.
But he wasn't stupid either.
Everything Makino had said could be verified simply by sailing to the South Blue and asking any random civilian.
He just couldn't imagine it.
The Celestial Dragon government he had always believed to be rotten, greedy, and dismissive of ordinary people as livestock was actually treating civilians well regardless of the cost?
"Nothing in this world is impossible. It's only that I stand at a different height than you do," Rosse's magnetic yet emotionless voice cut in.
At some point, he had produced an extravagant high-backed chair out of thin air. He sat down leisurely, resting his chin on one hand while watching Shanks's worldview shatter as though enjoying a play.
"A monster like you, who stands above everyone else and doesn't even see people as people... why would you do something like this?", Shanks clenched his teeth, forcing the words out.
If what Makino said was true, then although Rosse's rule was an iron cage without freedom, for ordinary defenseless people, it truly was the fairest and safest utopia.
That realization left Shanks feeling unreal.
"You still haven't grasped the fundamental logic behind how this world works, Shanks."
Rosse folded his fingers together on his knees, a smile on his lips, "No matter who it is, if they want to become a true ruler, if they truly want to govern a world, then their inevitable destination is to stop treating people as people. You don't deny that, do you?"
"That's nonsense!", Shanks shot back.
"The Revolutionary Army, people like Dragon, hold the noblest ideals! Even if one day they stand at the top of power, they'll never betray the common people!"
"Naive," Rosse let out a mocking laugh.
"If Dragon really reached the peak of power and chose to govern the world himself instead of stepping away at the height of his success, then over time, he would inevitably begin to see ordinary people as numbers and tools."
"No one is an exception. Even if he accomplished unprecedented achievements, even if he spoke about the people every single day."
Rosse slowly stood up and spread his arms as though proclaiming the truth.
"You think he wouldn't change only because he hasn't ruled long enough. He and his first followers haven't yet been corrupted by the poison of power."
"But what happens as time passes?"
"They'll have their own families. They'll have their own factions. They'll have to deal with rising stars who hold different political views. They'll enter a brand-new era that no longer needs revolution."
"When that time comes, as those with vested interests, they'll make mistakes in the name of maintaining stability. They'll stand against some of the people. New enemies will appear within their own ranks. Even comrades who once fought beside them in blood may one day raise the banner of rebellion."
"After countless betrayals and compromises soaked in blood, they themselves will change. They may still shout the moving slogans of the past, but in practice, they'll become no different from the evil dragons they once opposed."
Every word Rosse spoke struck at the heart like a heavy hammer against Shanks's chest.
Shanks frowned, cold sweat appearing on his forehead.
"Even so, people do change. I don't deny that. But what does that have to do with you? From the very beginning, you never treated them as human beings."
"That's right," Rosse spread his hands with a smile, his frankness unsettling.
"I really don't see people as people. In my eyes, they don't possess the slightest equal worth as human beings. But that doesn't stop me from protecting them, or from finding every possible way to make their numbers keep growing."
"Why?"
Since Rosse was willing to talk, Shanks didn't mind using the suffocating pressure to probe for a little more information.
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