"What do you think is the extent of the strongest power?"
Hearing Rolka's question, Robin couldn't help but recall the great fire that had burned Ohara.
And the incessant bombardment, a power that erased the entire Ohara from the map.
Rolka sighed, looking at Robin, who trembled in fear, lost in her memories.
He gently patted her head.
"Don't be afraid, it's all over now."
"So you believe it was the Demon Eradication Order."
Robin's trembling body slowly calmed, and she nodded heavily.
Rolka sighed.
"What kind of power is that?"
"It's merely a weapon to intimidate ordinary people."
"You cannot imagine the might of the truly strong, just like most people in the world."
"Sometimes, ignorance is a form of bliss."
Rolka fell silent for a few seconds.
"Do you think Karsk Island is large?"
"How does it compare to Ohara?"
Robin roughly recalled and calculated, her voice hoarse.
"It's about twice as big as Ohara."
Rolka looked at her and said.
"What if I told you someone could sink this island with a single punch."
"Erase it from the map, would you believe me?"
Robin's eyes widened instantly.
"How could..."
She stopped, incredulous.
She knew Rolka wouldn't lie to her, which meant...
Rolka sighed.
"You see, your mind, your knowledge, exceeds that of most people."
"But even you can't believe it."
"How then can the majority of people in the world believe?"
"They'll just dismiss it as stories, myths, or even jokes."
"People only want to live in the world they perceive."
"The Demon Eradication Order was born out of this."
"The populace might not understand the might of the strong, but they know what happens when a giant battleship's cannonball lands near them."
"The Demon Eradication Order is merely the government's method of intimidating the world."
"And there are those with the power to sink islands with a punch, among the Marines and the pirates."
"Then what about the government that stands above both of them?"
"What kind of power would it possess?"
Robin's mind went blank, and she shook her head in despair, unable to comprehend.
Rolka said softly.
"Hmm... how to describe it to you."
"If you ever have the chance to go to the Grand Line, or even the New World."
"You can look up the Sgrie Sea."
Robin murmured, repeating the name.
"The Sgrie Sea?"
Rolka said.
"That's right, the Sgrie Sea."
"It's located in the New World. It still exists on the charts, but all the islands on it have been erased."
"It takes us five days to sail from this island to the next."
"And the Sgrie Sea has over a dozen islands, not to mention countless small desolate islands and giant reefs."
"You can imagine its vast expanse."
"Simply because of a battle between powerful individuals."
"The islands in that vast sea were completely cleared, sunk to the bottom."
"This was merely formed by the battle between pirates and Marines."
"If we elevate this level a bit, can you infer what power the government possesses?"
"For example, the power to destroy a sea?"
"If it can destroy a sea, then doesn't that equate to being able to destroy the world?"
"What can be used to resist it?"
"Where can you obtain the power to destroy and overthrow it?"
"The history deciphered by the scholars of Ohara?"
"If history could save the world, it wouldn't have become history."
Robin nodded, then shook her head.
"I..."
She didn't know how to answer; she couldn't come up with an answer. This clashed severely with the world she knew.
Rolka continued.
"Can't think of it, can you?"
"Let me show you something else."
Saying that, he turned to get his backpack from the table.
After a brief search, he found a newspaper from some time ago and handed it to Robin.
"Look at these two news items at the bottom of the third page."
Robin took it and looked carefully. They didn't occupy much space.
Two events were written: one was about a kingdom called Kodaga on the Grand Line being overthrown by tens of thousands of laborers, who elected a new king and enacted a series of excellent policies.
The initiator of this overthrow of a kingdom, according to government investigation, was only known as "Dragon," the leader of a force called the Revolutionary Army.
The ideology it propagated was liberation and freedom.
At the bottom was a bounty for Dragon and a silhouette of him in a cloak, indicating his danger level.
Since the Kingdom of Kodaga was not a member nation of the government, they didn't delve deeply, merely issuing a symbolic bounty for a criminal with dangerous ideas.
Robin finished reading and handed it back to Rolka. Rolka smiled.
"Any thoughts?"
Robin thought for a moment.
"Easily overthrowing a kingdom suggests his ideas are dangerous, but..."
"That's all there is to it. If the goal is to overthrow the world."
"Against a government with such immense power..."
"It seems like a joke."
Rolka snapped his fingers.
"Exactly, that's all there is to it."
"His so-called liberation is only ideological."
"The fundamental issues have not been resolved."
Robin suddenly asked.
"The king?"
Rolka chuckled.
"That's right, the king."
"Although he used this ideology to overthrow a kingdom."
"For that country and its people."
"It was merely a change of king, and slightly better national policies."
"The real problems were not solved."
"They still lived day by day."
"Perhaps life became a little easier with a new king, but nothing fundamentally changed."
"In a few decades, what if this king's successor becomes incompetent?"
"And so it goes, what kind of liberation is that?"
"Even if they overthrow most of the kingdoms in the world."
"As long as the government holds that immense power."
"They could slowly outlast them, or..."
"Simply purge the world."
Robin shuddered at the scenario Rolka described.
"Purge the world..."
Rolka said.
"Terrifying, isn't it? But those guys are truly capable of it."
"So, the core question arises."
"History can't solve it, revolution can't solve it."
"Then what can overthrow this behemoth?"
"How to overthrow it?"
"There are only two words."
"Technology."
Robin murmured.
"Technology..."
Rolka said.
"Exactly, technology."
"Just as you couldn't imagine the might of the strong before."
"The government you can imagine has it, and the government you can't imagine also has it."
"To put it simply, can they build a ship that allows people to fly in the sky?"
"Can't think of it, right? But the government really has it."
"What if this flying ship carried a boatload of cannonballs?"
"If there were hundreds of such ships, could most countries withstand them?"
"This is the problem brought about by technology."
"Due to the sea, the exchange between islands in this world is too poor."
"Ninety percent of the world's countries are still in an agricultural era."
"But some countries have giant steel structures, advanced medical equipment, integration of biology and machinery."
"These are constantly being updated."
"The gap lies here."
"So, if the whole world enters the age of machinery,"
"And everyone is equipped with such flying ships and machines, is it possible to shake the government?"
Robin said firmly.
"Certainly."
Rolka smiled.
"That's right."
"For example, the Kingdom of Kodaga's livelihood was quarrying."
"Tens of thousands of laborers worked in quarrying."
"If a large machine were invented that could easily break stones,"
"With efficiency and speed dozens of times faster than before."
"Wouldn't that liberate a lot of labor, and the country develop rapidly?"
"And neighboring countries, seeing the power of technology, would also develop technology."
"One by one, the whole world would gradually become agitated."
"The economic base determines the superstructure."
"This is the law of world development."
"When supply and demand cannot be met, various contradictions will arise."
"And the simplest and quickest way is violent seizure."
"Then there will be a war."
"A war that sweeps across the world, determining its future direction."
"Even a government with immense power cannot remain unscathed in this world-sweeping war."
Robin became agitated.
"Then quickly tell them!"
"This way... this way...!!!"
Rolka shrugged helplessly.
"Do you think the World Government is stupid?"
"Actually, the government has long seen through all this, and the kings of those member nations."
"To some extent, they are all complicit."
"No one wants to overthrow their own rule, so even if it could make the world better."
"They would guard against it and nip it in the bud."
"So... it can only be imagined."
Robin said unwillingly.
"Is there really no way..."
Rolka pondered for a few seconds.
"It's not like there's no way. Take this Dragon, for example."
"Ideological liberation is also liberation. Even overthrowing a few countries, in a sense, is also a success, isn't it?"
Robin suddenly said.
"What if we combine the development of technology with his ideology?"
Rolka frowned, then shook his head after a moment.
"It won't work. If technology is combined."
"This Dragon probably wouldn't live for three days before being crushed by the government."
"Ideological liberation is merely a superficial fix, minor tinkering."
"But a technological revolution directly touches the government's bottom line."
"But..."
"If this Dragon's influence grows greatly in the future, even overthrowing many countries."
"Then developing technology might have a slim chance."
"Because the world is this big, when a large area is colored, the surroundings will follow suit."
"A large snowball rolls very quickly."
Robin nodded heavily, taking it all in.
Seeing her serious expression, Rolka smiled.
"Alright, don't overthink it."
"We'll deal with future matters in the future."
"Besides, I haven't lived enough yet. Going against the government..."
"What a joke."
"I'm very afraid of death."
Rolka's exaggerated expression made Robin quite annoyed.
Seeing Robin's huffy expression, Rolka took out a book.
"Here."
"This book, I wrote it."
"Don't ever let anyone else see it."
"This could cost you your head."
"I originally intended to bury it in the ground later."
"But seeing as you have that aspiration, if one day you take action."
"Don't say you know me if you get caught."
"I'm just a traveler seeking the truth of the world."
"I don't want to be a headless ghost."
Robin took the book and looked at the four characters on the cover.
Rolka said.
"Only by combining industrial technology and ideological revolution can the world be reshaped."
"So I named it..."
"Industrial Revolution."