I just unified the country, and you say this is sailing?

“Because of freedom.”

Qin Chen said slowly, "In this pirate world, pirates do not necessarily mean that all pirates are a group of people who rob and harm the people.

There is another group of people who become pirates simply because pirates represent freedom.

Shanks, Hawkeye, Whitebeard, etc. These pirate groups do not plunder countries or rob civilians. They are the kind of pirates who pursue freedom. "

"And Hawkeye, like the Red Hair Pirates before him, is also in a dilemma and cannot convince himself to give up his freedom."

"But you can't have your cake and eat it too. If you want to gain something, you have to give up something, right?"

Baili Dongjun nodded thoughtfully and said, "Your Majesty, every time I communicate with you, I always feel a lot and benefit a lot."

"It's good that you know. You even dared to tease me a few days ago."

"Hehe, didn't Your Majesty finally get along well with Princess Violet? I think Your Majesty—"

"Hundred miles."

"Hey, Your Majesty, I'm here..."

Baili Dongjun already had a premonition of his fate.

"You didn't have a good time swimming these days."

"Your Majesty, I am very happy." Baili Dongjun curled his lips.

"Then double the pleasure."

"..." Baili Dongjun, "As you command, Your Majesty."

"Go ahead. The weather is nice and sunny, perfect for swimming."

After leaving the palace, Hawkeye looked at Baili Dongjun passing by with a melancholy look on his face. He was a little confused, but he didn't ask any questions.

After all, he didn't even say a word to Baili Dongjun.

Hawkeye's steps were a little slow.

But he didn't want to wait for Shanks to treat him to a drink, but was just a little embarrassed to ask.

"You want to ask me why I want to join Daqin."

Looking at his familiar friend, Shanks understood everything.

"Yeah, naturally."

"You left the Holy Land of Marijoa before me. I left there partly because of your influence."

“I originally thought that a man as quick as the wind as you would not be inferior to others after leaving Roger’s Pirates.

but now--"

Hawkeye was very confused.

What is the charm of the Qin Dynasty that it can control a bunch of "wind"?

"Because you don't understand Daqin at all."

Shanks smiled meaningfully and looked to the left, where there was a bar.

"Come on, I'll buy you a drink, just as a favor for coming to tell me this time."

"Indeed, it should."

Hawkeye didn't object.

Inside the tavern.

A black hat and a straw hat were placed together.

Their host drank recklessly, one glass after another.

The people in the tavern were a little surprised as to why these two ordinary-looking men had such large stomachs.

In just a short while, each of them had drunk two barrels of wine.

"The man with a melancholy face just now is called Baili Dongjun. I was defeated by him. The cause of the incident is like this..."

"..."

"After that, our Red Group worked with Mirage to recapture various places. When we were recaptured Zhunan Island, we encountered a group of pirates.

Hey, you don't know how angry I was at that time, because Zhunan Island is my territory, but there are still people who dare to touch the head of me, a quasi-Four Emperors."

"..."

"Finally, the Qin Empire stopped imprisoning us. We somehow gained our freedom. Actually, except for the fact that my power was sealed when I was defeated just now, there have been no restrictions on us since then."

"..."

"We traveled around the islands and saw many, many things. You should have discovered how much the people in Dressrosa support Daqin.

Other places are even more supportive than Dressrosa."

"..."

“After Daqin completely took over all the territories, they implemented a very overbearing ban. Any pirates who dared to harass any civilians in Daqin would be killed without mercy.

This is not just an empty slogan, nor is it like what I did before, where I was completely unable to manage it.

The mirage of Daqin has been cruising within the territory of Daqin.

As long as there are pirates, they will be killed."

"..."

"There is not a single pirate in the Great Qin. Even after we joined the Great Qin, we changed our name from the Red Hair Pirates to the Red Pirates."

"Do you think that after I joined the Qin Dynasty, I became a minister who was completely strapped for cash? Actually, not really. Your Majesty did not restrict any of our actions.

The reason we stay here is that we just want to stay here temporarily.

If we want, our Red Group can go out to sea and have adventures everywhere.”

"..."

"More importantly, there are countless strong men in the Great Qin. Li Chungang, the one who taught you, is actually just a member of the Great Qin Martial God Temple.

There are many masters like him in the Great Qin Martial God Temple.

I don’t know how many times they were in the Great Qin, but what I do know is that before they came to Dressrosa, there were nine of them gathered in Huludao alone!”

“Moreover, the strong man who defeated Roger’s ship… and Roger was also a member of the Martial God Hall, but he was not any of the nine of them.

Also, Senior Li Chungang is a sword god but he doesn't have a sword. Don't you think it's strange? His sword was also broken by another stronger person in the Martial God Hall.

As for what grudges there are, I don’t know.”

Shanks talked freely.

Talking about what he saw, heard, thought and imagined in Daqin.

There were more and more wine barrels around the two of them.

Although Hawkeye was basically listening, his mind had wavered.

I even asked myself, is the Qin Dynasty really that good?

"Are there really that many powerful swordsmen in the Qin Dynasty?"

Hawkeye asked doubtfully.

"A lot, let me tell you this, at least one-third of the strong men in Daqin use swords as weapons.

Moreover, their understanding of kendo is completely different."

"Mr. Lang Fanyun's Fuyu Sword Technique, Luo Qingyang's Tyrannical Sword Technique, and Li Chungang's Kingly Sword Intentions are just three of the nine masters I know who use these swords."

“However, the so-called sword of the Great Qin is not the same as the sword we know.

The sword of the Qin Dynasty has a double-edged blade with a straight tip, and is as thin as a piece of paper. It has a point and can be used to stab, cut, chop, chop, and split.

It can hurt people vertically and horizontally, and can penetrate armor with a piercing blow. It is extremely dangerous and was born to kill. "

“And the sword we know as this has another name in the Qin Dynasty: knife.

The knife and the sword are separate.”

Hawkeye nodded.

It’s different here. The so-called sword path is what Daqin calls the sword path.

Shanks added.

“According to Senior Li Chungang, the reason why there are so many sword arts in the Qin Dynasty is because the sword is special: it is upright, representing fairness, and is also a symbol of the king’s balance.

And knives, there are very few.

For example, in our world, there is only one way of swordsmanship: the way of the swordsman.

That may be the case.

So, I suggest you practice sword instead... The sword of Zhongzheng, hahaha..."

Shanks' eyes were slightly drunken and he smiled foolishly.

"Screw you, I won't switch to the sword."

"That's fine. Swords and sabers are from the same family. All paths converge into one. Different paths lead to the same destination. If you refer to the way of the sword more, you will learn a lot."

All paths converge into one, and all different paths lead to the same destination.

This was the second time Hawkeye had heard this.

His heart was touched again.

Then there was silence.

After hearing what Shanks said, Hawkeye became even more confused.

Do you want to stay here?

There are so many sword masters in the Qin Dynasty. If he can gather the strengths of all schools, he will most likely reach the pinnacle of swordsmanship and become an invincible swordsman.

And if he left at this point, without the guidance of an expert, even if he became stronger in the future, he would never be stronger than these great men of the Qin Dynasty.

However, if he joined Daqin, he would no longer be free...

Looking at Shanks, who was drunk and had a silly smile on his face, Hawkeye was struggling internally.

Is it martial arts or freedom?

Hawkeye is not Shanks after all, and it is unknown what kind of struggle Shanks went through before finally making up his mind.

But Hawkeye knew that he had reached a crossroads in his life.

Hawkeye suddenly thought of what Shanks had just said, and changed the subject, "By the way, since you are free, why do you still want to stay in Dressrosa?"

"Hey, hiccup—

Yes... because, in fact, Your Majesty has long known that the World Government is going to call you into action.

Next, next...it will definitely be very lively here, how can our Red Group miss such a scene?"

After answering, Shanks fell headfirst onto the table with a thud.

Seems unconscious.

So, is that so?

Looking at Shanks, Hawkeye asked softly, "Shanks, do you regret it?"

"No... no regrets..."

Shanks seemed to answer in his sleep, with a smile on his face.

Although his cheeks were red from drinking, Hawkeye's gaze gradually became firm, "You are so disappointing. You fled the holy land of Marijoa for freedom.

In the end, they surrendered to the enemies of the World Government."

"Shanks, this drink is on your account. I'll pay you back later."

After saying that, Hawkeye turned and left the hotel.

On the streets, civilians' faces were filled with happy smiles.

The left side of the street leads to the palace, the right side leads out of town.