"Hah!"
Kōta's gaze lingered on Indigo for a moment, then he tilted his head back and took a swig of wine, bursting into hearty laughter.
"Hahahahaha!" He hadn't expected that the second person on the ship to understand his thoughts wouldn't be Ahua and the other two, who grew up with him, but Indigo, whom he had forced to join them at the start.
It seemed this guy hadn't lived his past few decades in vain!
As for the first, it was naturally Kuina. As the one who cared about him the most on the ship, dedicating her entire heart and mind to him besides training, she had already grasped his intentions when he expressed his utter disgust for pirates and the absence of the distinctive skull on their flag.
Why was he so happy?
It was because with a second person understanding him, there would be a third, and then a fourth. He believed that one day, his companions would no longer take pride in being pirates but would take pride in being adventurers.
After all, a thief was still a thief, no matter how nicely you put it.
Pirates were inherently disliked by civilians.
Civilians wouldn't fear musicians, historians, or adventurers...
But the moment they heard pirates had landed, the first emotion that would surge in their hearts would be panic.
This was a deeply ingrained perception in the civilians of this world.
In a world that was fundamentally oceanic, pirates had become synonymous with "fear," sometimes even more so than nobles.
This situation was particularly pronounced in the Four Seas.
These bottom-tier remnants, like weeds on a prairie, were endless no matter how many times they were cut.
It wasn't the nobles' fault; the nobles' oppression of civilians only increased the number of pirates.
It wasn't the world's fault either, for that's just how the world is.
If one were to truly assign blame, it would lie with human nature.
From the moment humanity was born, it was destined for complexity and diversity.
Where there is justice, there must also be evil.
Therefore, pirates could never be completely eradicated.
Only naive people would believe in the complete elimination of all evil, while those with insight, the truly intelligent, would focus on establishing rules.
Because while evil could not be entirely wiped out, rules could be put in place to confine it within a certain scope, preventing it from becoming too rampant.
However, it was a pity that this approach was only suitable for ordinary humans. In this world of miracles where extraordinary power existed, an individual's martial prowess could overturn a nation, or even, in some cases, destroy the world.
The strong...
Power...
Were inherently destroyers of rules.
Therefore, in such a world, the cost and hardship involved in eliminating evil would be exponentially increased.
And in this world, although the Marines could not truly represent justice, they did, to a certain extent, fulfill the mission bestowed upon them by justice.
Imagine what this world would be like without the Marines, without those individuals in the Marines who dedicated their lives to justice.
Most people often accused the Marines of being lackeys of the World Government, criticizing their actions day in and day out.
But they never considered that what they saw was merely the tip of the iceberg, a narrow perspective experienced by the main characters.
This world was vast. The Grand Line had seven routes, and the main characters were only traversing one.
And the Grand Line was merely a slightly larger scarf in the context of the world.
Beyond the Grand Line lay the even more immense Four Seas.
And the East Blue, where the main characters resided, was just one of the Four Seas.
You only witnessed the brutality of "Axe-Hand" Morgan, but you forgot that this man was once a passionate and justice-filled Marine in his youth. It was only after being hypnotized by Kuro's subordinate, Jango, that his temperament changed drastically.
You also subconsciously forgot that Morgan's subordinates were actually all true, just Marines.
Furthermore, the East Blue produced a certain "Rat," leading you to believe all Marines were like him. But you forgot that long before "Rat" arrived in Arlong's territory, a Marine Commodore, leading his men, unhesitatingly went to subjugate the Arlong Pirates and sacrificed them all.
This Marine Commodore, though he only appeared for a few seconds on screen and possessed meager strength, undoubtedly represented the true spirit of the majority of the Marines, not "Rat."
His name was "Brimstone."
Having said all this, it might seem like rambling, but some things are essential to mention.
The reason he let the Marines go was that, within his perception, they were indeed true men of justice. He wasn't a hot-headed seventeen or eighteen-year-old; with two lifetimes combined, he was nearly fifty. Many things wouldn't be approached with the impulsiveness of youth, like instantly annihilating an entire family for a minor offense. Such actions were only for passionate youngsters, not for him.
Most importantly, sparing the Marines had no negative impact on himself; in fact, it might even save many civilians. Why wouldn't he do it?
As for pirates, he had never considered himself a pirate.
Even though he was wanted by the World Government, proclaimed a great pirate by the Marines, and regarded as a pirate by the entire world, he still didn't see himself as one.
Sometimes, if you don't uphold certain things yourself, you will truly become what others perceive you to be.
And now, his perseverance was paying off.
At least Indigo understood his ideology and what he had always been striving for.
Even if it was only Kuina and Indigo, he was still happy.
After all, while the title of "adventurer" existed in this world, there were no true adventurer groups. His goal was to create the world's first adventurer group.
To achieve this through strength and action.
As more people came to recognize this, perhaps he could even establish an organization for adventurer groups, completely separating adventurers from the pirate faction.
"Hmm..."
What kind of absurd idea was this?
Kōta shook his head, quickly dismissing the sudden, dreadful thought that had appeared in his mind.
He wouldn't do something so time-consuming and effort-intensive!
He would much rather happily continue being an adventurer, exploring the world.
As for establishing some kind of adventurer group organization, he would leave that to the ambitious and dream-filled youngsters.
In fact, the best organizations to undertake such a task would be the World Government or the Marines.
Alas, they lacked that level of ideological depth.
Perhaps the Revolutionary Army would possess such foresight in the future.
Dividing pirates and allowing adventurers, who were passionate about exploration, to coexist peacefully with the Marines – these individuals, who didn't harm civilians and possessed considerable strength, could actually be the best assets for the Marines and the ruling class.
In many areas the Marines couldn't reach, these individuals could handle things more effectively, such as... assigning missions.
While this wouldn't completely eliminate evil or pirates, it would at least prevent the world from being so chaotic.
Wouldn't it?