Clang!
The deafening sound of metal crashing against metal rang out.
"I knew it. Every time there's a chance to look cool, you take it, while all the dirty work and beatings end up on me. It was like this in the palace when we were kids, and it's still like this now that we're out handling things..."
Ace let out a helpless sigh. He did not use his Devil Fruit ability. Instead, he drew an ancient-looking long sword from his waist and precisely blocked Shanks' attack that could split mountains and crack rocks.
After Rosse conquered the world of the Shinigami, in pursuit of even greater combat power, his direct subordinates had long abandoned ordinary pirate weapons.
What Ace held in his hand was his own Zanpakuto, the manifestation of his soul.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Almost the instant their weapons collided, hundreds of flashes of blades exploded inside the small tavern, too fast for the naked eye to catch.
Even though both top-tier fighters were deliberately holding back, the terrifying shockwaves from their attacks still sliced through the entire wooden tavern like tofu, tearing it apart into countless pieces.
The heavy roof was cut apart and thrown into the air like a sheet of paper caught in a gale, exposing the blue sky above.
In the middle of this destructive clash, Makino, who stood at the center of the storm, escaped without even the slightest scratch.
Partly because both Shanks and Ace were doing everything they could to keep their sword energy away from her while fighting.
And partly because Shirahoshi was standing beside her. A thin curtain of water glowing with soft blue light perfectly blocked all the destructive shockwaves.
"Divine Chosen Princess... what exactly is that?"
Among the flying wood chips and roaring noise, Makino swallowed hard. Her face was pale as she nervously asked Shirahoshi.
She could tell that the moment Shanks heard those words, his anger had crossed a limit.
This definitely was not some kind of benefit.
But seeing Shanks fighting and bleeding for her sake, she could not simply stand by and do nothing.
She needed to know the truth.
"You really need to study more. You don't even know about a public World Government policy," Shirahoshi smiled as she explained.
"Starting four years ago, the World Government began issuing a divine decree every year to all special districts around the world, carefully selecting 365 beautiful girls from every corner of the globe and sending them to the Holy Land, Mary Geoise."
"They become honored pets who can serve the gods at close range."
"P-Pets?"
Makino's voice suddenly rose.
The little color left in her face disappeared completely.
No one with an independent mind would willingly become a living toy for others to play with.
"Don't look at me like you've been insulted. There's no need to feel wronged," Seeing Makino's reaction, Shirahoshi's smile grew wider.
"Although this order is completely mandatory and nobody can refuse it, every chosen Divine Chosen Princess receives something in return. Her family and close friends immediately gain the right to live on the Red Line and enjoy endless wealth and luxury beyond anything they, or even their descendants, could ever imagine."
Shirahoshi's tone was full of temptation, "Even the selected girl herself can make any request before she is officially sent into a god's bedchamber to receive favor. Whether it's priceless jewels or the throne of a nation, the World Government will satisfy every material desire she can think of."
"Trading a little dignity for the rise of an entire family... sounds like a pretty good deal, doesn't it?"
"Sounds like...", Makino hesitated, "It doesn't seem quite as terrible as I imagined?"
She had originally thought she was being sent to suffer in hell.
But if it could bring wealth for life and protect the people around her, then for an ordinary civilian living under the threat of pirates, it really was difficult to resist.
After all, in this chaotic world, if Shanks were not constantly nearby, she could never know whether tomorrow or disaster would arrive first.
"Makino! Cover your ears and stop listening to that devil woman's nonsense!"
While fiercely exchanging blows with Ace, Shanks heard Makino's words and roared angrily.
"To hell with Divine Chosen Princesses! Going there is no different from becoming a slave! No, it's ten thousand times worse than slavery! There's no dignity there at all. There's only twisted torture wrapped in fake luxury!"
Shanks forced Ace back with a slash and glared at Shirahoshi.
His eyes were bloodshot.
"Shirahoshi! You lying devil! Do you dare tell Makino the real death rate of the Divine Chosen Princesses?"
"The death rate?"
Shirahoshi tilted her cute head, as though thinking through an extremely simple math problem.
Then she answered casually.
"Let me think... This year happens to be the fifth year since the policy began. Over the first four years, we selected a total of 1,460 Divine Chosen Princesses. Hmm. As of yesterday, the number of deaths was... 1,025."
"That means 435 girls are still happily alive."
"S-So many died?"
Those lightly spoken numbers hit Makino like a heavy hammer.
Her whole body started shaking uncontrollably.
A death rate of three-fourths.
That meant almost all the girls chosen during the first three years were already dead.
This was not wealth and glory.
It was a slaughterhouse hidden beneath a beautiful shell.
"The policy itself was created with good intentions. If those lowly girls failed to appreciate such a rare blessing, how is that the World Government's fault?"
Looking at Makino's horrified expression, Shirahoshi shrugged indifferently.
Her tone was chillingly cold.
"The material enjoyment they received before dying was already worth far more than their worthless lives. They gained so much, yet they couldn't endure even a little hardship while serving the gods. They still wanted more and were never satisfied. If they got themselves killed, whose fault is that?"
"Turning the act of treating human lives like grass and torturing girls to death into something that sounds so noble and casual..."
Shanks swung his sword again, cutting down another section of roof as he roared in anger.
"Heh! So this is the justice your World Government claims to represent? It's disgusting!"
"Huh?"
Shirahoshi suddenly widened her eyes dramatically and looked Shanks up and down as if she had spotted a rare alien.
"First of all, the World Government stopped claiming justice a long time ago. Even the Marines changed the word on their coats from 'Justice' to 'Order.'"
"And second, Uncle, as a pirate whose hands are covered in blood, you're probably the least qualified person in the world to lecture us."
Her voice was filled with undisguised mockery, "You pirates love talking about freedom. But when fighting over territory or pride, the number of civilians you kill in a single day often exceeds four hundred, doesn't it?"
"As for our World Government, after working hard all year, we only bully a few thousand people at most."
"And most of them don't even die. At worst they feel humiliated or upset. Their material lives are still thousands of times better than when they were beggars or dirt-poor peasants."
Shirahoshi took a step forward and stared directly at Shanks.
"On the other hand, you pirates burn, kill, and loot whenever you feel like it. Nothing grows where you pass. Do criminals like that, who have no limits and do whatever they want, really believe they're more righteous and noble than the World Government?" [T/N: One wrong doesn't make the other right.]
"You!"
Shanks was instantly choked by Shirahoshi's argument.
His chest rose and fell sharply.
Even the speed and force of his sword strikes became somewhat disordered.
Because what Shirahoshi said was true.
After spending so many years as a pirate, no one understood pirates better than he did.
Ninety-nine percent of the pirates on the seas were complete scum.
As for some rule about not killing innocents?
What a joke.
Back when he sailed under Captain Roger, he had stained his hands with plenty of innocent blood while protecting his companions and fighting for sea routes.
At the time, he was a youth and thought that was a man's romance.
Looking back now, he really had committed many terrible acts.
But he could not back down.
"We... WE'RE PIRATES!"
After holding it in for a long time, Shanks could only grit his teeth and shout those words.
Because pirates did not need to explain themselves to anyone.
The nature of piracy was freedom and plunder.
But when it came to moral ground, he had lost completely.
"Tsk!"
Shirahoshi let out a scornful snort.
"I thought you were going to shamelessly claim that you'd never killed innocent people. I even prepared my response."
"I was going to tell you that the girls we choose every year and send to heaven to be bullied by Father also willingly offer themselves after hearing about the wealth and luxury."
"Then does that mean..."
The silent Makino suddenly seemed to find a lifeline.
Her eyes lit up, "As long as I refuse, as long as I don't want all that wealth and glory, the nobles of the World Government won't force me to go, right?"
"If you mean physically kidnapping you..."
A horrifying smile slowly spread across Shirahoshi's beautiful face.
"Of course not."
As soon as the words fell...
Snap!
Shirahoshi casually snapped her fingers.
The next second, Rockstar, who had been lying on the floor nearby and gasping for breath after failing to withstand Sanji's Conqueror's Haki...
BOOM!
His head suddenly exploded before everyone's eyes like a ripe watermelon smashed by a hammer.
Red and white matter instantly splattered across nearly half of the ruined tavern.
"ROCKSTAR!"
Watching their companion die so horribly right in front of them, the members of the Red Hair Pirates froze for a brief moment before completely losing control.
Lucky Roux, Yasopp, and the others let out grief-filled roars like wild beasts.
Ignoring the crushing Conqueror's Haki pressure that still hung over the area, their eyes bloodshot, they raised their weapons and charged toward Shirahoshi without caring about their lives.
Yet Shirahoshi did not even blink at the enraged beasts.
She did not spare them a single glance.
Her gaze remained fixed on Makino, whose legs had gone weak and whose face was white as paper.
"What a hassle."
Sanji blew out a stream of smoke and sighed.
Whoosh!
His body left behind a black afterimage.
While easily suppressing Vice Captain Beckman by himself, his long legs coated in Armament Haki turned into countless black shadows.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
A string of dull impacts echoed out.
One kick each.
The Red Hair Pirates officers who had just charged forward could not even touch their enemy's clothes before being sent flying like kites with cut strings.
They crashed heavily into the ruins, coughing up blood, completely losing the ability to fight.
This was not because the Red Hair Pirates were weak.
Judging purely by raw strength, Sanji and Ace, the two children into whom Rosse had poured endless resources, were only S-Class at this point.
Though still slightly below Shirahoshi, who possessed the strongest foundation, dealing with a Red Hair Pirates crew that had spent years quietly retiring in East Blue was effortless.
In the end, it was not that Sanji and the others were absurdly strong.
It was that the current Red Hair Pirates had become too comfortable.
Within this artificially created golden age of piracy, they had experienced far too few true life-and-death battles.
These talented fighters had spent all their time hiding in the weakest sea, drowning their sorrows in alcohol, occasionally heading to the New World for sparring matches with the Neo Marines.
Flowers raised in a greenhouse could never fully realize their talent.
How could they possibly compete with geniuses raised under the best education?
"Their presence is certainly intimidating, but when it comes to actual strength, they're still lacking," Shirahoshi laughed softly.
From beginning to end, her beautiful eyes never spared a single glance for the Red Hair Pirates officers pinned to the ground and struggling in pain.
Her attention remained locked on Makino's pale face.
Parting her lips slightly, she spoke in a soft voice as though chatting with a close friend.
"To be honest, I've always found you remnants of the old era very confusing."
"You've wanted to oppose the World Government for a long time now."
"In fact, even twenty years ago, before I was born, you had already created detailed plans in your minds. You even imagined what kind of free and wonderful world you would build after defeating us."
"So, uncles with ideals, can you tell me why your ideals are still only ideals today?"
"In a world this cruel, why hasn't your strength improved very much?"
"Can you tell me why?"
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