"A puppet state?"
The mockery in Leo's voice deepened, carving through the tension in the room. "Do you truly believe being a member nation of the World Government is a privilege? If it were such a blessing, why hasn't Amazon Lily ever petitioned to join?"
He didn't wait for an answer. "Let's be honest. The 'Heavenly Tribute' paid to the Celestial Dragons is nothing more than a protection fee paid to the Navy. How is that any different from the tribute nations pay to the Four Emperors in the New World for the 'honor' of flying their flag?"
His perspective was jarring. It stripped away the grand titles of 'Justice' and 'Empire,' reducing the world's most powerful entities to mere street gangs.
Both Hancock and Elder Nyon were stunned. For a long time, the world had seen the World Government as the legitimate authority and the Emperors as the usurpers. But Leo saw them as two sides of the same coin. In the New World, the Navy's influence was choked out by the Emperors. The tribute there was lighter than the Heavenly Tribute, but the logic remained the same: pay up, or perish.
Hancock's eyes shimmered with a new intensity. "If we follow your logic," she said, her voice dropping to a low, challenging silk, "then ascending to the seat of an Emperor is the ultimate way to change the world. As an Empress, I ensure my people live in peace. My subjects are safe, fed, and orderly. Compared to the chaos outside, this kingdom is a paradise."
It was her greatest point of pride. The Kuja Pirates were a family, and Amazon Lily was their sanctuary—a place where the rot of the world couldn't reach.
"They hold territory, yes," Leo shook his head, unimpressed. "They can dictate life within their borders. But they change nothing fundamentally. Their entire system relies solely on their individual strength. It's a cult of personality, not a government."
He leaned forward, his gaze intensifying. "The moment an Emperor dies, their 'peace' dies with them. There is no continuity, no lasting policy. Mercy and cruelty both live and die within a single person. A nation like that has no future. It's just a stay of execution."
Hancock let out a soft, sharp huff. She didn't like his words, but she couldn't find the leverage to topple his logic.
"You have a very large mouth for a man with no power," Elder Nyon remarked, her eyes narrowing as if trying to see through his skin. Was he truly just a weakling, or a master hiding his strength?
"According to you, not a single pirate in this world is worthy of respect?" the old woman challenged. She had confirmed it: the man had no Devil Fruit, and he didn't radiate the presence of Haki. Yet, he spoke of the Pirate King and the Great Powers with utter disdain.
"Is there anyone worth respecting?" Leo asked, tilting his head.
"Boy, you are a frog at the bottom of a well," Nyon snapped. "Whitebeard, the titan left over from Roger's era. He protects thousands of islands and countless lives. He is the man closest to the One Piece. Does he not deserve your respect?"
Despite living in isolation, Nyon's grasp on the world's power balance was sharper than most veteran pirates.
"Whitebeard?" Leo chuckled. "Whitebeard has no interest in the One Piece. He's just a lonely old man who spent his life looking for a family. That's why his crew calls him 'Pops.' He's a patriarch, not a revolutionary."
Nyon winced. It was a blunt, almost cruel assessment of the Whitebeard Pirates' core. Everyone knew they were a family, and that was exactly why they were the most dangerous crew to provoke. To touch one was to bring the wrath of 'Pops' down upon your head.
Nyon gritted her teeth, moving to the next name. "What about Big Mom? Her crew is bound by blood—a family of her own children. Their unity and combat power rival, perhaps even surpass, Whitebeard's. Do you look down on her too?"
"A woman enslaved by her own hunger," Leo countered smoothly. "And children enslaved by their own bloodlines. They crave a stable home, not the world. Their strength is a hollow facade. They pillage the outside world while trembling at Big Mom's tantrums within. They are psychologically broken. They won't do."
Leo wasn't just mocking them; he was organizing his own thoughts.
He remembered the "story" of this world clearly. He knew the absurd abilities that could end a man's life in an instant—powers like Sugar's Hobby-Hobby Fruit or Perona's Hollows that could bypass traditional strength entirely. In a world where "destiny" seemed to favor certain individuals with absurd luck, a man like him had to be careful.
Until he gained true power, he needed a shield.
He needed to wrap the Empress of the Sea around his finger.
Every word he had spoken was a calculated brick in the wall he was building. His ultimate goal was singular and daring:
He had to convince Boa Hancock to abandon Amazon Lily and follow him to dismantle the World Government.
To do that, he had to break her pride. He had to make her see that her "paradise" was a prison, and that he was the only one who held the key to her true freedom.
Converting the world's most arrogant woman wasn't going to be easy, but Leo was just getting started.