Chapter 172: Might Makes Right
Chapter 172: Might Makes Right
Section One of the carriage fell into a brief silence after Lucci and the others left.
Robin stared blankly at the closed carriage door, then lowered her head and managed a bitter smile. "You know, sometimes I envy you. Being able to live safely in the East Blue Sea... perhaps that's what allowed you to foster a fearless spirit."
"At the age of eight, I was already being hunted. Everyone wanted my head, wanting to claim the bounty on me. All I could do was run for my life."
Two decades of fear and distrust had cast a dark shadow over her view of the world. Back then, she had the opportunity to board Saaguchi's ship, but the danger of having two people from Ohara together was too great. To avoid bringing unnecessary attention to Saaguchi at the time, she gave up that path.
His father's brother's family, Robin's uncle and aunt, had treated her poorly when she was young, but that was all in the past now. Compared to those hardships, the mere presence of someone else from Ohara, with a blood relation no less, was enough to bring Robin comfort.
However, later on, Saaguchi's antics grew bolder and his infamy rose. Now, his bounty had reached six hundred million.
She had just learned of this six hundred million bounty from Lucci's words. The information she knew only went as far as four hundred and twenty million, so such a sudden increase must have been due to quite a stir.
"If I had boarded Saaguchi's ship back then and accepted this 'little brother's' protection, perhaps I wouldn't have feared the Buster Call. And I wouldn't be endangering the Straw Hat Crew now..."
"But if I had boarded Saaguchi's ship..."
Robin's eyes took on a faraway look as several faces flashed through her mind.
The captain's goofy yet hopeful smile.
The swordsman's stoic expression.
The cook's gentle face when he prepared meals.
The navigator's greedy look when she spotted treasure.
The long-nosed man's timid face when faced with danger.
The ship doctor's happy expression when praised.
Being with them indeed brought her great joy and a sense of adventure she had never known before. After running for over twenty years, it was only during her time on the ship that Robin truly felt alive.
But precisely because of that, she couldn't involve them any further!
"Perhaps the only way for someone like me to let everyone else be happy is to die." Robin forced another smile.
"How peculiar."
Saaguchi reached into his cloak but didn't pull out any cigars.
In the midst of this heavy downpour, he didn't have any on him.
"Get me a box of cigars!"
He called out to the carriage door once more before continuing, "Can someone else's happiness only be achieved through another person's death? What do others have to do with you and me? Is being from Ohara a crime? Who decided that? The World Government?"
Saaguchi clicked his tongue. "Out here on the sea, might makes right! It's precisely because your fist isn't as strong as others' that everything you do can be condemned by others. Even though you're from Ohara and know so much history, don't you gain any insight from it?"
He stretched out a hand and looked at his open palm. "The Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, knew everything in this world, yet he was still condemned by the World Government. But never once did he say that he needed to die for others to be happy. Even at his execution, that man kept the whole world on edge."
"Whitebeard, once known as the strongest man in the world, had a reputation that spread far and wide across the seas. Even now, in his old age, the sea itself still doesn't dare to underestimate him."
"Kaido, Big Mom, and Red Hair—these powerful figures of the sea are familiar to us all. Have I ever heard of them fearing something like the Buster Call and then choosing to die, all for the sake of bringing happiness to those on the sea?"
"These powerful pirates are far more dangerous than simply knowing about some historical crimes, yet what of it? The World Government may condemn them, but what power do they truly hold over these peak pirates? None, because these pirates are strong!"
Saaguchi clenched his hand into a fist. "Weakness, that is the original sin! All of this is because your strength isn't enough. Take those who want to come and save you, for example. If they were strong enough, hmph, CP9 wouldn't even receive the mission to arrest you! Much less be so timid that they're just sticking to the windows, still confirming if there are any enemies."
"Windows?"
Robin was taken aback and instinctively looked towards the window. There, she saw a long-nosed man with a mask, using the Suction Cups to stick to the outside of her window, his face pressed against the glass as he tried to get her attention.
"Mr. Longnose?!"
Upon seeing Robin's reaction, Longnose quickly moved away from the window. Soon after, he opened the door to the first carriage and carefully closed it behind him.
"What's going on?"
Robin exclaimed in surprise, "Why are you here, and how did you sneak in?!"
"Hahahaha, you're asking so many questions all of a sudden, I don't know where to start."
Longnose laughed, "Nice to meet you, I'm the Sniper King from Sniper Island."
"Cut the jokes!" Robin shouted, "Answer me!"
"It's a long story, but the gist of it is that I'm here to rescue you. There's also a guy named Sanji and a little punk named Franky on this train. Luffy and the others are chasing after us on another train, on the same route."
Longnose took out two Suction Cups and said, "With these, we can all get outside together. Then, when the other train arrives, we can leave. By the way..."
He looked towards Saaguchi beside him and said, "My friend Usopp told me that you're Robin's little brother. I didn't expect you to be captured as well. Do you want to escape with us?"
"Quite enthusiastic."
Saaguchi smiled, "But I think I'll pass. I came on board this train of my own accord, and besides, I still haven't finished my meal. Since you have the courage, I'll stay behind and finish eating."
"Eat, eating a meal?"
The long-nosed man with the mask was, of course, Usopp himself. Unlike the man who had caused a ruckus on the train, he didn't have the strength to do so, so he used the Suction Cups to stick to the body of the train and climb over.
He had originally intended to bring Robin away directly, but then he saw a familiar face.
It seemed to be Saaguchi, Robin's little brother. He remembered Luffy mentioning something like this, so he wasn't an enemy.
The words that this fellow had spoken left him a little bewildered.
They were all captured, yet he still had the appetite to eat?
"That's right, eating. And while we're at it, let's show these crew members that my words are the truth," Saggy said, baring his teeth in a grin at Usopp.
The carriage door opened, and Owl pushed in a cart laden with food, accompanied by the uniformed World Government official.
"Captain, the food is ready, and so are the cigars you requested. Corgi didn't go look for Wanze, so who made this?" Owl asked, eyeing the masked Usopp.
"Long Nose!" Corgi exclaimed. "How did you escape from the sixth carriage and get here? Who set you free, Owl?"
"Prepare a meal for him as well," Saggy ordered.
Before Corgi could finish his sentence about dealing with Usopp, Saggy waved his hand dismissively, interrupting him.
"Who do you think you are!" Corgi roared. "You're just a criminal, a criminal headed to Enies Lobby. How dare you give orders—"
Puh!
Just as Saggy lifted the lid off a dish and picked up a fork, he swung his arm forward, piercing Corgi's head with the fork and silencing him mid-sentence. Corgi's body swayed unsteadily, his eyes widening briefly before he collapsed to the ground.
Blood trickled from the hole in his head.
"Get rid of the body and wipe up the blood. Don't ruin my appetite," Saggy said, picking up another steak knife and spearing a chunk of meat, which he bit into and devoured half of.
Although he ate without any semblance of table manners, his coarse way of dining seemed perfectly fitting at that moment, and no one dared to criticize it.
"Captain," Gabra said as he entered upon hearing the commotion, a bitter smile on his face. "This will be hard to explain."
"What's hard to explain? I didn't ask you to get your hands dirty," Saggy replied, chewing on the food in his mouth before swallowing it and taking a swig of red wine straight from the bottle. "I'm a pirate. Killing a World Government official is nothing out of the ordinary for me."
"Understood," Gabra acknowledged, dragging Corgi's body away and tossing it out to sea through the carriage door. Owl, meanwhile, found a rag and quickly wiped up the blood.
In the second carriage, Lucci and the others stood up and stared at them, but no one said a word.
To them, it was as if the death of the World Government official had never happened.
"See?" Saggy said, pointing at them with his steak knife and baring his teeth in a sinister smile. "This is what truth is. Because I'm strong, no one dares to talk back to me. Only when I want to reason with them are they allowed to do so. If I don't want to, they don't even get a chance to open their mouths."
"This guy..."
Beneath his mask, Usopp's face was covered in cold sweat, and his body trembled.
He had killed so casually?
And right under the noses of those dangerous-looking government agents? The same ones who had threatened Robin? Yet, Saggy's actions were as if he were in his own home!
Like some despicable, wealthy noble casually disposing of a servant, he even made these government agents obey his commands. Why?
Shouldn't this guy also be a criminal?
Bang!
Before Usopp could think too much, the door of the second carriage and the roof above it were suddenly broken through. A man dressed similarly to Gabra flew out from the carriage door, while a weasel-like man with hair that looked like three claws descended from the roof.
A curly-browed, blond man in a shirt and vest pushed his way through the carriage door, and above him, a bizarre fellow wearing only an open shirt and underwear landed on the roof.
"Things are getting lively," Kalifa said, pushing her glasses up as she glanced at Franky. "Also, that's sexual harassment."
"It's my hobby!" Franky exclaimed.
"Are all the escorts dead?" Bruno asked, looking at the two men behind the carriage and speaking in a deep voice.
"We didn't have high expectations of them to begin with," Kaku replied nonchalantly.
"Are you the ones who captured Robin?"
Sanji frowned. "You guys look like trouble."
"Looks like there's no need to ask further," Lucci said indifferently. "However, let's get out of here. Nico Robin is a must-capture target, and she won't go with you."
"Let's go!"
Robin stood up, her arms crossed. Countless hands sprouted from Usopp's body, propelling him toward the second carriage with a forceful push.
"I won't go with you. This is my decision!" Robin declared.
"That won't do!"
Usopp quickly stood up, threw a smoke bomb into the second carriage, filling it with smoke, then sprinted toward Robin, embraced her, and dashed into the third carriage.
"Well done, Usopp! Sniper King!" Sanji exclaimed excitedly. He and Franky disconnected the coupling between the third carriage and the rest of the train.
However, Kalifa quickly wrapped her thorn whip around the third carriage, and Bruno grabbed the whip, pulling the carriage back while leaning forward and grabbing the door of the second carriage and the wall of the third with his hands, forcibly reconnecting the two.
"You!"
Sanji rushed forward, his leg drawing circles as he powerfully kicked Bruno.
"Iron Block," Bruno acknowledged with a bland response, intending to block the attack.
But this level of pirate was likely unaware of the Six Styles, let alone have experienced them.
Bang!
Bruno's body swayed, and he spat out a mouthful of blood before flying into the second carriage.
"Iron Block, I know this move!"
Sanji stood up, his leg bent. "I've seen it before!"
The battle between Alabasta and Akainu had made him familiar with this move.
He had sensed it when the big guy had used it.
(End of Chapter)
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