One Piece: Blue Scale Admiral

However, the Kingdom of Sorbe, which was plagued by locusts, was also experiencing a famine, with hundreds of thousands of refugees in need of food aid.

It was at that time that Ilya appeared and promised to provide them with enough food, on the condition that Dragon possessed the Kirin Fruit.

Out of trust and goodwill towards Ilya, and out of concern for the famine in the Kingdom of Sorbe, Dragon did not hesitate for long before giving him the Kirin Fruit.

Rorschach's hometown was destroyed after that, because of Ilya's plan.

Looking back now, the many coincidences truly seem like a tangled web of cause and effect.

"I've long wanted to see what kind of person this man is, the first to dare to declare war on a god who has been high in the clouds for eight hundred years." Rorschach picked up his bowl and drank it all in one gulp, then leaned back in his chair with a relaxed posture, sizing up Dragon in front of him.

With a lion-like nose, broad eyes, thick eyebrows, and strong facial features, his face is adorned with a cross pattern, and his eyes hold a world-weary wisdom.

To be honest, Rorschach doesn't resemble Dragon's appearance or temperament at all. How does he resemble Garp in any way?

If Garp is someone who doesn't project a strong image, is always joking around, and can get along well with everyone from Fleet Admiral Sengoku down to third-class recruits...

Nadrag was the type with a calm demeanor, dignified appearance, and a somewhat unsmiling personality.

Even a high-ranking revolutionary officer like Sabo appeared somewhat reserved in front of Dragon.

Upon hearing Rorschach's words, Dragon raised an eyebrow and chuckled, "It sounds like you're not very respectful to your superior. That's not something a high-ranking naval officer would say."

Before Rorschach could speak, his expression turned serious, and he said in a deep voice, "Rorschach, I have read all your files and know that you are a Marine who hates evil, is decisive in killing, and adheres to the ideals of justice, leaning towards absolute justice, but with a philosophy that is somewhat different from Akainu's extreme views. I want to know your true opinion on the current rulers of this world, the Marines' superiors, and the World Government."

Rorschach pondered for a moment, then looked up and asked, "Would you like to hear a rational or emotional perspective?"

Dragon was taken aback. "Reason and emotion? What's the difference?"

"There's not much difference. However, if it's the latter, it should resonate with many people. After all, there are far too many people in this world who have suffered unfair treatment from the World Government. And from an emotional perspective, most people can only see the bad side of the World Government, although it is indeed extremely bad, beyond redemption."

This was the first time Dragon had heard such remarks from Rorschach, and he couldn't help but feel curious.

"Could you explain the difference between rationality and emotion?"

Rorschach nodded.

"From an emotional perspective, the world government today is the source of all evil, the culprit behind the shattering of countless families, the collapse of nations, and the extinction of races, and the source of all suffering on the high seas."

"Many tragedies in this world stem from the enormous sums of money they collect from the heavens, from the arrogance and domineering attitude of the second-generation princes of the Celestial Dragons who treat human life as worthless, from their indifference to life, and from their oppression and exploitation of countries around the world."

“I think anyone with even a shred of conscience wouldn’t want to see those in power who don’t value life sitting at the top of the pyramid forever. If one day those people fall from the clouds, I think countless people will cheer and applaud.”

“That’s right! You’re absolutely right!” Dragon’s eyes lit up.

Rorschach's view was exactly what he had in mind when he defected from the Navy many years ago.

It was precisely because he saw this that he resolutely chose to leave the navy, establish the Self-Defense Army, and help those suffering people at the bottom of society fight for their right to live.

Dorrag hadn't expected that Rorschach was thinking the same thing.

Sure enough, he hadn't misjudged Rorschach.

This boy is really suited to join the revolutionary army.

"But rationally speaking, the World Government is not entirely without merit. In my view, it is an alternative pirate group that can legally monopolize the exercise of violence."

"The World Government is... a pirate crew?" Dragon was stunned.

He had never heard of such a novel statement before.

In the years since he left the navy to found the revolutionary army, Dragon has also found many like-minded comrades around the world.

For example, Ivankov, Big Bear, Jasmine, Betty, and others.

He had heard people compare the World Government to a shadow that looms over the world, to a man-eating monster that no one can resist, or to an ancient dynasty of member states.

But I've never heard anyone compare the World Government to a pirate crew.

"Yes, don't you think they look alike?"

Rorschach picked up a few pieces of bread from the table in front of him, broke them into pieces, and placed them on the table, pointing to the small pieces of bread:

"Take the Four Emperors' pirate crews in the New World as an example. The way they manage their forces is by planting their pirate flags in kingdoms, islands, and towns, providing military intimidation and protection, and then collecting protection money. As for those stubborn territories that refuse to allow their flags to be planted, the pirates certainly won't provide protection. Not only will they not provide protection, but they will also plunder them extensively. How about that? Does that sound familiar?"

"Instead of spending time, effort, and money to occupy those distant island territories scattered across the sea, it's better to use this method of collecting protection fees to obtain a continuous stream of wealth."

"At this time, if one of the protected islands under our command is harassed by foreign forces, simply displaying our flag will deter them. If that fails, we can use swift and decisive measures to suppress them, making an example of them to warn other forces on the high seas."

"After a long period of development, one day, a territory under the pirate crew suddenly became uncontrollable. Believing itself to be strong enough to break away from the crew's protection, it went out and challenged the Four Emperors..."

Rorschach picked out the largest piece of bread from the bread pieces on the table, raised his right hand, made a fist, and smashed it into crumbs.

"That would invite a devastating attack from pirates."

"After one or two such devastating blows, would anyone in the pirate crew's territory dare to raise their head in rebellion?"

As Rorschach spoke, he looked at Dragon, whose heart was trembling.

"In my view, the World Government is a super-large pirate force similar to the Four Emperors' pirate crew, but on such a large scale that it encompasses almost the entire world."

Chapter 444 The World Government is an Alternative Pirate Crew

In Rorschach's view, the current world government is essentially an organization that has been recognized by the vast majority of countries in the world and is able to legally and monopolistically use violence.

Yes, it means to admit it.

Whether this recognition stems from the legacy of the twenty kings who created the world eight hundred years ago, or from the powerful military force currently held by the world government.

Whether it's a passive or active admission.

Modern world governments are all law enforcement agencies that are openly recognized by countries around the world.

On this blue planet where seawater outweighs land, the world government has built a powerful navy with bases all over the world.

They prohibited the member states from establishing their own navies, so that when these member states were ravaged by pirates, they had to ask the World Government for help in suppressing them.

The World Government needs money to send troops, and this money is equivalent to the protection fees that pirates regularly collect from their territories.

That is, heavenly gold.

Under the burden of the Heavenly Gold, the major member countries are usually divided into two categories.

One type is a kingdom that is prosperous, economically developed, and powerful enough to easily afford the heavenly gold.

Such countries are world-class powers. They don't care about paying a small, insignificant amount of "heavenly gold" every year, as they can easily hire the navy to eliminate the threat of pirates.

For example, Alabasta, the Kingdom of Balaiwu, the Kingdom of Roshuwang, and many other powerful nations that are frequently invited to participate in world conferences.

The other category consists of weak nations that reluctantly paid some money to join the membership because they could no longer tolerate the harassment from pirates.

These countries, perhaps due to their small land area, limited domestic resources, and underdeveloped economies, struggle to even feed themselves, let alone pay a large sum of money to the world government every year for the protection of the celestial gold.

This includes the Goa Kingdom in the East Blue, the Sorbet Kingdom in the South Blue, the Rubnilu Kingdom in the North Blue, and the Drum Kingdom in the Grand Line.

If royalty and nobility have no money, or are unwilling to use their private savings to pay the Heavenly Gold, but do not want to lose the protection of the World Government, then they have no choice but to exploit ordinary people and squeeze the wealth of the working class.

The lower classes of these kingdoms, due to the excessive exploitation by the Heavenly Gold, have long lived in dire straits, which has led to the emergence of many pirates who risk their lives to go to sea because they cannot survive.

The World Government exploits the weak member states, which in turn exploit their own impoverished civilians. Unable to survive, these civilians turn to sea as pirates, who then attack the member states, which in turn seek the protection of the World Government.

In this way, a cycle is formed.

Until these weak member states collapsed, unable to pay their dues, they were expelled and became unprotected non-member states, leading to even greater chaos.

Rorschach concluded, "If we compare the World Government to a massive pirate crew, then the Five Elders and the Knights of God are the high-ranking officers within that crew. The Navy, the Holy Land Guard, and the Army are the affiliated pirate crews. The member states are the territories protected after being planted under the World Government's flag."

"Among these protected individuals, the wealthy are indifferent to the protection fee, so they won't rebel. As for the poor, they are too weak to cause much trouble even if they rebel. This is the fundamental reason why the World Government has been able to sit in that highest position for a full eight hundred years!"

If powerful nations don't resist and weak nations can't resist, then the world government can sit back and let the storm rage on.

In addition, it is worth mentioning that despite the Drum Kingdom, Goa Kingdom, and Sorbet Kingdom being so weak, they are still qualified to receive an invitation to the World Conference.

This demonstrates just how weak the other 120 or so member states that were not qualified to participate in the World Conference truly were.

Many of the so-called kingdoms in this world are actually just small islands.

Not all of them are as vast as Alabasta.

Dorrag nodded repeatedly, feeling that Rorschach's analysis was quite insightful.

Countless thoughts surged through my mind, and I wished I could record all of Luo Xia's arguments and study them carefully.

He quickly picked up the wine jug and poured more wine into the bowl in front of Luo Xia. He shifted his position and sat down on the stone bench next to Luo Xia. He licked his lips and asked expectantly, "So, what do you think we should do if we want to bring down this supreme ruler?"

Luo Xia picked up the wine bowl, took a sip, smacked his lips, stroked his chin, and pondered for a while longer.

Dragon remained silent, not daring to disturb Rorschach's thoughts, and sat quietly to the side, waiting for Rorschach's answer.

Rorschach pondered for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "If you want to take down the World Government, you must first determine the gap between yourself and it."

Dorag nodded like a chick pecking at rice, looking like he was listening attentively.

"We can try to view the relationship between the world government and other forces, large and small, as a complete food chain in nature."

The World Government is the apex predator in the food chain, the Sea King.

Many forces in the world that can pose a certain threat to it, such as powerful nations among its member states, the Four Emperors, the Seven Warlords of the Sea, and the Revolutionary Army, are in the middle of this food chain; they are the sharks.

Those weaker member states and non-member states are at the very bottom of this food chain, like shrimp.

"Mr. Dragon, your Revolutionary Army may be considered behemoths to those weak shrimps, so powerful that they cannot resist. But in front of sea kings, even a huge shark with sharp fangs is just a matter of one or two bites."

"No matter how many shrimp there are, they can't cause the slightest harm to sea kings. The only way to pose a threat to sea kings is to unite many sharks of similar size and attack them together."

He looked at Dragon, a genuine admiration in his eyes, and said, "Mr. Dragon, do you know why I have never considered your Revolutionary Army as my enemy?"

Before Dragon could answer, Rorschach continued, “That’s because what you’re doing is trying to rescue those weak, helpless ‘shrimp’ from the gaping maw of the Sea Kings. Even though many people see this as futile and overestimating their own strength, I think it’s absolutely great.”

"Thank you." Dragon nodded, patted Rorschach on the shoulder, and said earnestly, "Rorschach, I sincerely invite you to join the Revolutionary Army. Your ideas and understanding of the world are exactly what we need. We can definitely become like-minded comrades. Let's join hands to change this world and save more people."

Luo Xia smiled slightly and gently shook his head. "Wait until I finish speaking."

"Alright, go on." A flash of disappointment crossed Dorag's eyes, and he quickly gestured for Rorschach to continue.

"The Four Seas are the foundation of this world. Though seemingly weak, they house the majority of the world's population. Mr. Dragon, your choice to establish the Revolutionary Army there is correct. Protecting the weak and valuing life is the true justice we should uphold. But..."

"The relatively stable environment of the four seas is destined not to produce many strong people, but this world is a world of the strong."

"I know what I'm about to say might be outrageous or unreasonable, but that's the reality of the world."

"No matter how many small countries the Revolutionary Army unites in the four seas, it can't compare to winning over a major power like Alabasta on the Grand Line, or a powerful force like one of the Four Emperors' pirate crews in the New World. The Revolutionary Army's activities in the four seas may change the chaotic status quo, but they won't do much to help the Revolutionary Army overthrow the World Government's rule in the future."

Rorschach took a long loaf of bread, placed it in front of Dragon, and tapped it.

"Given the strength of the vast majority of kingdoms in the world, even if they agree to rebel against the World Government, they may not even be able to set foot on the Red Line."