Chapter 580: Governments Are Not All the Same
Chapter 580: Governments Are Not All the Same
Jaba chuckled at Kuro’s words. “Hahaha, Captain, you’ve been hated!”
“Hahaha, true enough,” Roger replied, scratching his head with a sheepish grin. “I am a pirate, after all. Being hated comes with the territory.”
Kuro narrowed his eyes. He’d never held a favorable opinion of Roger.
As far as he could tell, all this man had brought was chaos. The only thing Kuro had ever felt from Roger’s actions was the worsening of the world’s state.
Had the world improved?
No. It had gotten worse.
Ever since that man’s final words at his execution, everything had spiraled downward.
Pirates had existed for centuries—eight hundred years ago, even earlier. This was an oceanic world. So long as humanity thrived, pirates would always exist.
Piracy was as deeply ingrained in this world’s culture as any tradition, immutable and eternal.
But it could be mitigated.
Kuro didn’t care about the World Government’s affairs. He held no strong feelings toward them.
The World Nobles were one thing, but when World Nobles began treating humans as slaves, that was where lines blurred.
Yet one undeniable fact remained: the World Government had maintained order for eight hundred years.
Don’t spout nonsense about “freedom” to an old man like him. Kuro had never believed in such ideals—not in his past life, and not in this one.
Freedom?
What kind of “freedom” was it? The kind where “a man loses everything but gains freedom”?
Was freedom simply doing whatever one pleased?
Then stray dogs on the roadside were freer than anyone.
Compared to humans, those mongrels were the true embodiment of freedom.
Kuro believed in discipline. But humans, at their core, were beasts. Discipline itself required order to exist.
At the very least, the World Government had preserved the Grand Line’s baseline of peace.
But what had this man done?
With a single sentence, he’d plunged the Grand Line into the Great Pirate Era—the first of its kind in eight hundred years!
Because of him, Kuro couldn’t even live a stable life in the East Blue. Even there, pirate attacks were rampant, and countless innocents suffered.
Kuro knew this man wasn’t solely to blame. Humans were creatures who sought convenient justifications for their actions.
Those harboring ambition, malice, or the desire to pillage and burn—they’d merely used Roger’s words as an excuse.
But Roger was undeniably the spark.
If you wanted to overthrow the World Government, fine. That was at least understandable.
But why incite pirates to swarm the seas, leaving the Navy scrambling?
If you’ve got the guts, go fight the World Government head-on!
Join the Revolutionary Army if you’re so bold!
Besides, toppling the World Government would achieve nothing.
This wasn’t a fantasy where defeating a demon king restored peace.
If you erased a so-called “world hegemon” from the map, would the world truly become peaceful?
Naive!
The World Government wasn’t even a global ruler. How much authority did you think they truly held?
They were merely a coalition of member states—a union that had grown from twenty ancient kingdoms to hundreds of nations today.
They couldn’t directly interfere in member states’ affairs, yet they were expected to protect those same states, like a protection racket.
Worse, they often had to clean up messes made by member state elites.
Take the Kingdom of Flevance, for example. They knew the dangers of Poison Lead, yet their nobles kept selling it. If they didn’t value their own people, why expect the World Government to?
At best, the World Government merely took a cut of the profits.
As for non-member states, the World Government had no authority over them at all.
The pirate infestations plaguing the Grand Line were the result of individual kingdoms’ policies and the world’s inherent principle that “power belongs to the individual.”
The World Government wasn’t the world’s father figure. Kuro had been puzzled by this when he first arrived here.
Back then, he’d clung to the idea that “when in trouble, turn to the government.” It had taken time to unlearn that mindset.
Adapting to local customs was necessary. This world’s World Government simply couldn’t be relied upon.
Governments weren’t all the same. There were distinctions.
The World Government’s only true authority lay in its direct subordinates. More accurately, they could only control places like Enies Lobby.
The Seven Warlords of the Sea? They answered to no one.
The Navy? Kuro knew their true nature best.
Who among them didn’t play both sides?
If they struggled to manage their own affairs, how could they possibly govern member states?
But none of this was Roger’s doing. The man likely never considered the world’s balance at all.
This man possessed pure adventure spirit—and the reckless, Haki-charged arrogance of someone who’d say, “After me, the deluge.”
If
If this truly was the past, and he killed this “One Piece” here and now…
Would the Great Pirate Era never come to pass?
Could he then live out his days in peace?
“Hm? Killing intent?”
Roger’s grin faltered as he suddenly froze, staring at Kuro. “Brother, you’re planning to kill me? Not just arrest me?”
“The Navy killing pirates—surely no law forbids that?”
Kuro leveled Autumn Water at his side. “You’re not busy, are you? Let me teach you a lesson: humans shouldn’t be too idle. Idleness breeds chaos, and chaos leads to ruin.”
Whoosh!
In an instant, Kuro vanished from sight, reappearing at Roger’s flank.
The Black Blade crackled with electric sparks as it sheathed—then unsheathed in a flash. “Swallow Return!!”
Three blades became one, sealing every escape route as it slashed toward Roger.
“Oh! This move—”
Jaba’s eyes widened. “Incredible! So refined! Far superior to Silvers Rayleigh’s swordsmanship!”
“Haha, this—” Roger grinned, teeth flashing. “You’re strong, Brother! Strong enough to seal my escape! But remember: swords, fists—both require closing the distance. As you approach me, I approach you. If you can’t dodge, then come at me directly!”
As the blade flash surged forward, Roger lunged, his left fist rocketing toward Kuro’s face with thunderous speed.
Bang!!
The punch exploded through the air.
Kuro’s eyes widened. He redirected the Black Blade to block, the blade intercepting the strike.
Then came the force—a fist pressing against the blade’s edge, shoving Kuro backward in retreat.
Swallow Return was broken in an instant.
And this man’s unarmed combat skills? Far from weak. They were formidable!
“Here I go!”
Roger swung his sword, crimson lightning crackling, unleashing a strike of immense might.
“Divine Evasion!”
The seamless motion left Kuro unable to find an opening for counterattack.
He stomped, launching his body skyward.
As expected, Roger adjusted his strike upward, the blade arcing without releasing a flying slash. Yet in that moment, Kuro sensed danger.
That Haki’s intensity was lethal!
Kuro’s two fingers flicked across the Black Blade. “Mystic Art!”
Boom!!
The blade slashed through the air, colliding with Kuro’s sword from a distance. The Haki erupted, clashing in midair. The shockwave sent Kuro soaring into the sky.
“He’s flying! He’s flying!”
Roger slashed, then extended his hands, gripping the sword with both arms as he tensed his legs for another leap—only to freeze mid-motion.
The Navy officer who should have been plummeting downward now hovered mid-sky, his expression dark and stormy.
“Oh? This is…” Roger frowned. “Can you fly now? That’s troublesome.”
(End of Chapter)
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