Harden exhaled heavily a few times before finally letting go. Darwil stumbled as his feet hit the ground, nearly falling over.
"Kuro, escort Mayor Darwil off the ship," William instructed calmly, his tone as composed as ever.
Then, turning to the visibly shaken Darwil, William said, "Mayor Darwil, as I've told you, my crew and I are not like other pirates. We'll be stationed here for a while, but we'll remain on our ship during our downtime. You can assure your townsfolk that it's safe to return to their homes. If you receive any information about lingering bandits, you can come to me. And if any of my crew harms your townsfolk, you can also come to me."
After finishing his statement, William didn't wait for a response. He waved his hand, signaling Kuro to escort Darwil off the ship.
Once the two had left, William turned his attention to Harden, who was still fuming over Darwil's disparaging remarks about the Pirate King.
"He's just a fool brainwashed by the World Government, full of prejudice and misunderstanding about the Pirate King!" Harden said angrily.
"His hometown was just pillaged by pirates, and he's old enough to be our grandfather, yet he still has to bow and scrape to us pirates for mercy. From his perspective, all of this is caused by the Great Pirate Era. When you praise the Pirate King, the one who started it all, of course, he'll be furious," William said calmly. "It's entirely understandable for him to say what he did. He's a civilian, one of the many victims of pirate raids. Ever since the Great Pirate Era began, countless pirates have emerged. From his standpoint, it's only natural for him to resent Gol D. Roger. What else would you expect him to feel? Should he love the Pirate King?"
"He doesn't understand the greatness of the Pirate King or the significance of the Great Pirate Era. He doesn't see how the Pirate King challenged the Marines and shook the foundations of the World Government!" Harden retorted, still indignant.
At that moment, Selkirk, who had been silent until now, spoke up. "Of course he doesn't understand. Neither does any other civilian. Do you know why?"
"Regardless of what the Pirate King's ultimate goal was, that mayor, this town, and countless other villages and towns that have suffered similar fates—all these civilians are the ones who've been sacrificed to this era. They are the ones being tormented by the era that Gol D. Roger himself set into motion. So, do you think they'll ever acknowledge or understand the greatness of this era or its initiator? Tell me, as a pirate, would you ever acknowledge or understand the greatness of the Marines who hunt you down relentlessly?"
Selkirk hailed from the North Blue, where pirates ran rampant far more than in the East Blue. He had also ventured into the lawless Grand Line, where the chaos inflicted by pirates was even more severe. Having witnessed the devastation caused by pirates firsthand, Selkirk understood the toll they took on civilians better than Harden ever could.
Harden fell silent. Seeing this, William said, "Go to your room and take some time to calm down."
After Harden left, Selkirk, who had been unusually quiet since witnessing the executions onshore, also retreated to his quarters without a word.
Now, only William and Aramis remained on the deck.
William left the table and walked to the bow of the ship. Standing against the sea breeze, he squinted at the distant town. Aramis silently followed and stood behind him.
"Being here reminds me of that innocent woman I killed back then," William said with a sigh.
Aramis smirked. "What's the big deal? You know what kind of people Danton and his crew were. If she'd fallen into their hands, she wouldn't have survived anyway. And before dying, she'd have suffered far worse."
"But I didn't expect the Marines to arrive so soon after I killed her. Maybe I should've waited a little longer," William murmured.
"You couldn't have known that," Aramis replied, frowning. "And even if you had waited, what could you have done? Back then, Bamond had us surrounded with his men. It's easy to say 'wait,' but we didn't have the skills we have now. Could we have protected her from them?"
"You're too soft-hearted when it comes to ordinary people who can only cower before the strong," Aramis added.
"Do you have a problem with the way I handle things?" William asked, turning to face him.
Aramis nodded. In the past, he might have blurted out his thoughts without hesitation. But since Vallon's death and his rise to the rank of officer in a major pirate crew, he had matured. At least now, he could hold back his curiosity until they were alone.
"I don't understand your attitude toward that mayor and those civilians. They're just ordinary people. Is it worth compromising the crew's interests for them? After all, it's the crew that fights for us," Aramis asked.
"This world is built on the foundation of ordinary people," William said, lighting a cigarette. After exhaling a puff of smoke, he continued, "Do you know what's most terrifying about the Marines?"
"The Admirals?"
"No. It's their ability to replace an Admiral immediately if one dies unexpectedly. That kind of foundation—an endless pool of talent—is what makes them terrifying. And the reason they have such a foundation is because they're rooted in the very ordinary people you look down on. Countless 'ordinary people' join the Marines in the name of 'justice,' and among them, there are always some who are anything but ordinary."
William's tone was steady as he explained, "If you want to build the pinnacle of a pyramid, you first need a massive base."
Aramis frowned but said nothing.
"And that's just the Marines," William continued with a hint of awe. "What about the World Government?"
Aramis seemed to grasp something and asked, "Are you trying to emulate the World Government or the Marines? How could we? We're just pirates!"
"Exactly. If we're just a group of bandits who only know how to loot and destroy without understanding how to build, we'll never compare to the World Government or the Marines, who have goals and ambitions," William said softly. Then he asked, "What do you think of the World Government?"
Aramis sneered in disdain.
William chuckled at his reaction.
The World Government's atrocities were well-documented. For instance, the bridge nation of Tequila Wolf in the East Blue used countless enslaved workers, many of whom were citizens of nations that refused to join the World Government.
The descendants of the twenty kings who founded the World Government considered themselves creators, enjoying countless privileges as the so-called Celestial Dragons.
The Celestial Dragons were so arrogant that they refused to breathe the same air as ordinary humans, often wearing astronaut-like helmets. They also maintained a culture of slavery, capturing people of various races as slaves, regardless of whether they were citizens of World Government member nations.
Corruption ran rampant within the government, and even the Marines, the face of the World Government, were not immune. The regime's sins were innumerable, and many of its policies and actions were far from those of a normal government.
Yet, despite all this, the World Government still enjoyed the support of the common people.
"Why do you think the people still support the World Government, despite how terrible it is?" William asked.
"Because they're idiots!" Aramis scoffed.
"Wrong. It's because they have no other choice," William said, shaking his head. His eyes glinted as he continued, "People born into chaos long for peace. Most of them just want someone to suppress the lawlessness and end this cruel era. No matter how corrupt or incompetent the World Government is, they're still the ones consistently hunting down pirates in the name of 'justice.'"
Whether their motives were pure or not, the World Government and the Marines were undeniably working to end the Great Pirate Era.
"Restoring order to a chaotic world—that's what the people want. The World Government and the Marines have that goal, and they're in the best position to achieve it. That's why people cling to them, even if they have to hold their noses to do it. But what if they had a better option? They might not be so loyal to the World Government after all," William said, his gaze sharp.
Aramis finally understood William's meaning. He shivered and glanced around to make sure no one else was nearby before whispering, "You'd better not say things like that to anyone else."
"I only say it to those I trust," William replied with a nonchalant smile. "Now, go get some rest."
Aramis nodded and headed toward the back of the ship. Halfway there, he turned to look back. William was still standing at the bow, as still as a statue, staring at the distant town. What he was thinking remained a mystery.
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