"After I die, who cares about the flood?"
This sounds like a heroic statement, but it's definitely not something a "good person" would say.
After all, being a truly "good person" is incredibly difficult.
They have to consider what their actions will bring to others, and even to future generations.
That's actually very tiring.
Because being a good person is inherently tiring and hard.
They dedicate their entire lives, abandoning everything of themselves, to shape everything for others.
Giving up everything, sacrificing oneself.
Let's imagine a scenario—
Suppose there exists a place in the world where people can choose to abandon their memories, bodies, thoughts… everything.
But in return, this person gains the opportunity to "dedicate" themselves to others forever.
"You"—would you agree to such terms?
Huh?
Scary?
Of course, that's a terrifying prospect.
To forget the past, forget your thoughts, forget your kin, forget everything about yourself, leaving only the will to dedicate yourself to others, and to strive for it forever.
At first glance, it sounds like a behavior bordering on madness.
No one with a sound mind would agree to such terms.
Losing everything about oneself—is basically equivalent to death. What meaning does "dedication" in such a state hold?
But if you have such thoughts, you are no longer a "good person" in the pure sense.
Pure good people are happy to dedicate themselves to others, even if such dedication brings no personal benefit, even if they can't even perceive this dedication themselves!
But even so, "good people" will still choose to dedicate themselves.
Whether it's done silently or with great fanfare makes no difference to them.
They are indeed a group of great people.
At the same time, this is something ordinary people simply cannot imagine.
…
So, who is a good person?
At least Vinsmoke Judge, that "strange bird," is not.
Of course not. As the commander of Germa 66 and the emperor of the Germa Kingdom, Judge's hands are already stained with blood. Countless clone soldiers have been sacrificed for his own benefit.
Such a man certainly cannot be called a "good person"; in fact, he could be called a "bad person"!
Then, is "wise general" Sengoku a good person?
No, not really.
To ordinary citizens, the Marines are certainly good people.
They help drive away pirates, protect the lives and property of ordinary people, and are dedicated to maintaining peace and stability on the sea.
Isn't the leader of such a group of people, such a person, considered a good person?
But for "pirates," Sengoku and the Marines he leads are certainly not "good people."
…Do bad people need good people?
But true "pure good people" don't define whether someone is good or bad.
They will reflect on why "bad people" appear and work to improve the situation, rather than simply opposing "good" and "bad."
Those who say such things but still only think of themselves are "hypocritical."
But those who genuinely think this way in their minds and put it into practice are truly "great."
…
So, let's return to the original question.
Is "Golden Dawn" Ryan Rowan a good person?
He founded the glorious Alabasta Empire, where the people live in peace and stability to this day. Alabasta remains a superpower that the World Government cannot ignore.
Is such a prominent figure a "good person"?
Of course not.
If he were truly a good person, Ryan Rowan would not have desperately tried to block the world-ending lava, while simultaneously having the thought, "After I die, who cares about the flood?"
— Ryan Rowan himself thinks so.
He earned an unparalleled reputation for himself, but left his companions to continue their journey until the very end…
Such behavior certainly doesn't qualify as being a "good person."
…
Time returns to the present.
Judge had discerned the key point in Rowan's statement.
What Ryan Rowan is proposing at this moment is actually directed at the "good people" on the sea.
Because the "tree," which theoretically threatens all life in the world, actually poses its greatest threat only "theoretically."
This is not difficult to understand.
The threat posed by that tree to the world was discovered thousands of years ago, in ancient times—or even earlier.
To resolve it, people at that time even created ancient weapons, top-tier doomsday machines that influenced the power dynamics of later generations.
But the result was that they failed.
A crushing defeat!
The brilliant civilization that created the ancient script perished.
And about eight hundred years ago, scholars in Shandora learned the truth about the "tree" and also tried to resolve it…
No, the reality is far more than this.
For example, the armory discovered in the underground chamber of the Aden Kingdom in the North Blue bears the symbols from Shandora!
In other words, Shandora's battle plan against the "tree" eight hundred years ago already included the North Blue.
If this is true for the North Blue, it's likely the same for the East, South, and West Seas. The probability is not low.
So, the fact is that Shandora had already laid the groundwork for a four-sea alliance against the tree.
But even so, the scholars of Shandora ultimately carved countless "run" marks on the wall.
The facts are easy to guess—they were desperate.
Two waves of attacks launched to counter the "tree" ultimately ended with one side defeated and the other in despair.
They failed.
…Hmm, failed?
If they failed, shouldn't that tree have absorbed the world as nourishment and ultimately destroyed the entire world?
But the facts clearly are not like that.
Even eight hundred years later, the world still exists, war still exists, life still exists…
So, what was the impact of the "failure" of the ancient civilization and Shandora millennia ago?
Human lifespan is only a mere hundred years. Who can guarantee that the tree's impact on the world will definitely manifest within a hundred years?
If it won't manifest, then why risk a counterattack and put all your effort into uniting everyone to fight that tree?
This is clearly a losing proposition.
In Ryan Rowan's words—
"After I die, who cares about the flood?"
The reality is exactly like that.
On this sea, there are very, very few people who are willing to dedicate themselves, people who would even give up "everything" for the sake of dedication.
Those people are the easiest to be forgotten, because they don't care much about such things.
Just uniting these people is not enough to confront that great tree.
To achieve the "tree cutting" Rowan spoke of, the power of "bad people" must be utilized.
Whether they are minor villains, major villains, or extremely evil…
In short, Ryan Rowan needs more "power."
But in Judge's view, this "power" clearly cannot be willingly controlled by Rowan.
As he thought this, Rowan's voice suddenly echoed in Judge's ears.
"Why must it be voluntary?"
"Huh?"
"I said, why must it be voluntary?"
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