"Ah, it's not like it's anything particularly excessive."
Beltz smiled.
First, he went to the treasure site and took out the Memo-Memo Fruit hidden inside.
"Eat the fruit first to get used to the ability. When the time is right, I will take you to my world."
"Eh? Lord Beltz' world? Is it heaven?"
"Although the people there all claim to be gods' this or that, it can hardly be called heaven. In fact, it's actually a place with a rather harsh environment."
"By the way, is there anything you two are missing? I can bring it along when I come next time."
Liltotto has now become a Celestial Dragon and is also considered an honorary member of the Knights of God; she holds a position of great power in One Piece.
She could have anything she wanted.
"We don't really lack anything," Kuma scratched his head and said, "it's just that the surrounding villagers are all living very impoverished lives."
"I see..."
Beltz thought for a moment, then took a treasure chest out of his shadow and handed it to Kuma.
"?" Kuma was a bit confused and asked, "What is this?"
"There are one billion Berries inside. It can improve your lives during difficult times, but..."
At this point, Beltz spoke to Kuma with a serious and solemn expression: "Never give it to others for free, and you must never reveal that you have this huge sum of money. Do you understand?"
"Why is that?" Hearing about the one billion Berries, Kuma was shocked, followed by confusion.
"If you give money to the poor, the poor will still be poor." Beltz sighed and told Kuma another story.
And it was a story from this very world.
"There is a very powerful man in this world named Edward Newgate. You should have heard of him, right?"
"He's a pirate from the Rocks Pirates!" Ginny said immediately. "He was at God Valley back then too!"
"That's right." Beltz nodded. "His hometown is very poor, so over the years, he has actually been quietly sending his money back there."
"But for a great pirate like him, even after continuously sending wealth to his hometown for decades, he still couldn't change the status of poverty."
Beltz sighed and added, "In this world, it's not as if giving money to the poor makes them rich. Giving them money directly is the simplest way, but also the most irresponsible way."
"Why?" Kuma didn't quite understand.
"Because even if they obtain a certain amount of wealth for a time, it will eventually be exploited and taken away by the nobles. They don't take your money based on a fixed number."
"Instead, they will deliberately keep you within a range where you can survive but won't live particularly comfortably. When you earn enough money, this year's taxes will simply be higher..."
"The money you distribute to them will always be collected by nobles and kings through various channels. That's why that idiot great pirate sent wealth to his hometown for decades, yet the people on that island are still a bunch of paupers."
In fact, even thirty-eight years later, Whitebeard's fellow villagers in Sphinx would still be a bunch of paupers.
For a great pirate like Whitebeard to even have to put his daily drinks on a tab while diligently sending wealth for decades—how massive a fortune must that have been?
Let alone a small island, it could have supported an entire country!
"How can this be?" Kuma found it hard to accept.
Although he had been captured as a slave by the Celestial Dragons since childhood and witnessed their ugliness, his heart remained kind. He truly didn't understand: everyone is human, so why must they make things so difficult for one another?
"This is the fundamental law of this world. Among all the rules by which the world operates, it might be the most basic one."
"Lord Beltz..." Kuma looked at Beltz again, his eyes filled with hope. "Do you have a way to save everyone? To save this world?"
Beltz fell silent upon hearing this.
He was no great man, and his goal wasn't to liberate the world; besides, that didn't align with his interests.
According to his plan, his team would include Liltotto, Gremmy, and others. These people would absolutely never join something like the Revolutionary Army.
They might overthrow an old king, but after establishing a New World, they would certainly want to be part of the ruling class. Even if they didn't rule over others, they would never accept a status equal to that of ordinary people.
Moreover, in a world filled with such miraculous powers, expecting those with world-destroying strength to be content with the same status as ordinary people was inherently impossible.
Even if they overthrew the Celestial Dragons, it would merely result in the establishment of a new dynasty.
At most, it wouldn't become as distorted as the Celestial Dragons.
So he shook his head slightly, not answering the question immediately, and instead looked at Kuma and changed the subject: "You should know about Nika, right?"
"Nika... I know."
Kuma had been a bit dazed from Beltz' words, seemingly contemplating and digesting them, but upon hearing Nika, a look of yearning flashed in his eyes.
"That is the legendary hero who saves those suffering because they cannot obtain freedom! He is the Warrior of Liberation!"
"That's right, Nika is the Warrior of Liberation. But let me tell you, Kuma, if people don't revolt of their own accord and are instead content with just being slaves, then even Nika will be powerless to help them."
Beltz said seriously, "If one only hopes for others to save them, they don't deserve freedom at all!"
"So this world won't be saved by me or any other individual; it depends on you yourselves."
"Ourselves...?"
"Exactly. Saving others directly is just changing the master they serve. Only when they have the intent to resist in their own hearts can this world truly be changed."
"Do you remember the words you said to the slaves back in God Valley?"
Kuma fell into his memories once more.
Back in God Valley, Ivankov had tried his best to persuade everyone not to give up and even to resist, but everyone fantasized that by following the Celestial Dragons' rules, they could survive as long as they hid for three days.
In reality, the Celestial Dragons never intended to give them a way to live from the start.
"If you want to change this world, you cannot operate according to its established rules." Beltz patted Kuma on the shoulder and said earnestly:
"We are not gods; we are all just mortals. What saves us won't be a god, but ourselves."
"If you don't even want to resist yourself, then you don't deserve to be saved by others."