Sakaski continued,
"When Walpo died, as the sole remaining heir."
"Muzhuru, exiled to the Land of Fire, would surely be brought back to inherit the throne."
"And on this boundless sea."
"A few people disappearing is perfectly normal."
"Such a fine ability will have great use in the future."
A cruel smile touched his lips as he stared in the direction of the Four Emperors of the New World.
Carol inexplicably felt the temperature in the room drop a few degrees:
"You've thought of another cruel method, haven't you?"
Sakaski said softly,
"Not a cruel method, per se."
"Just to let those degenerates experience what despair feels like..."
Carol pondered:
"Despair..."
"But given their personalities, how could they experience despair?"
Those Pirate Emperors... even Charlotte Linlin, with the most children, wouldn't mourn the loss of a few, would she?
She even acted on them herself sometimes...
As for the others who lacked familial bonds, it was even less likely...
Sakaski chuckled lightly:
"Oh, they will."
"Everyone has a weakness."
"The so-called Pirate Emperors merely mask these weaknesses with their immense power."
"Making people believe they are invincible."
"But... is that truly the case?"
*Whoosh*
Sakaski produced a map and placed it on the table:
"Look, where is this?"
Carol walked over and said,
"The location of one of the Four Emperors, Charlotte Linlin."
"Whole Cake Island."
Sakaski nodded:
"These islands surrounding Whole Cake Island."
"Form a colossal kingdom."
"The Totto Land Kingdom."
"Also known as the Hundred Islands."
"Do you see anything?"
Carol thought for a moment:
"A colossal kingdom?"
Sakaski nodded and said,
"Precisely."
"However, a colossal kingdom is just the foundation."
"You don't know what her dream is, do you?"
Carol nodded... No, he really didn't know.
Sakaski chuckled. Others might not know, but he did:
"Charlotte Linlin's dream."
"Is to establish a nation where all races in the world, regardless of their standing, can live together."
"She hopes all races become 'family,' grow to her size, and dine together at the same table as equals."
"Hence the name Totto Land, with another layer of meaning being 'Hundred Islands'."
"What a beautiful and grand ideal."
Carol's lips twitched... this...
Sakaski continued:
"Charlotte Linlin welcomes anyone who wishes to join Totto Land."
"Once they join, everyone receives protection."
"All they need to pay is their lifespan and tribute every six months. If they fail to do so..." they will be destroyed."
"Such a wonderful place."
"Would you want to go?"
Carol quickly shook his head:
"No, no, no..."
Sakaski smiled:
"It's not entirely without merit. If you're being pursued by a powerful enemy, escaping there would be quite good."
"With the protection of one of the Four Emperors, Charlotte Linlin, you could at least survive."
He slapped his hand on the map on the table:
"This Totto Land."
"Is Charlotte Linlin's dream, her life's work."
"In ten years, when that spore bomb is released into Totto Land, coupled with some wind-type abilities, it will sweep across the entire Totto Land."
"Except for Charlotte Linlin's children and a few powerful cadres, everyone else in Totto Land... will die."
"Tell me, will Charlotte Linlin go mad then?"
Carol gasped:
"She'll probably hate you to death..."
"This is too cruel..."
Sakaski's eyes narrowed:
"Without cruelty, how can she understand pain?"
"These scumbags on the sea, always talking about destruction, war, the world."
"A joke."
"They think that overwhelming ordinary battles with their strength constitutes war?"
"Do you know why they want war?"
"Because no one has ever brought them the pain of war."
"Because no one has ever destroyed what they hold dear."
"And I intend to make their dreams, their life's work, everything they cherish..."
"Turn to dust."
"What's the point of having immense strength?"
"Why is the Fungus-Fungus Fruit called the most malevolent fruit?"
"It's because its spores drift with the wind. Despite its flaws like extreme heat and cold, and neutralization by seawater..."
"It cannot be denied that once it spreads."
"Those who come into contact with it will die within seconds."
"Even if she can conjure flames and cover Whole Cake Island, she cannot cover an unknown expanse of sea and dozens of islands."
"To make her watch with her own eyes as the place she built for decades is destroyed."
"To make everything she possesses vanish into thin air."
"The three-eyed tribe, deciphering Poneglyphs, all gone."
"Not only the kingdom she built, but also that laughable dream of becoming Pirate King, will be buried at sea."
"To make her hate to the point of madness, to the point of frenzy, to make her realize she lived decades in vain and ended up with nothing."
"And Steam Punk, Kaido of the Beasts, even Shanks the Red-Haired, who is about to become a new Emperor."
"They all have things they cherish, they just haven't been discovered."
"One by one..."
"With the most brutal methods, utterly destroy them..."
-------
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
In the Marine Academy, two figures with purple hair crisscrossed.
The young Sorte watched as Zephyr lunged forward, his body slightly airborne as he violently retreated.
Simultaneously, the ground around them churned and surged, coalescing onto his arms and constantly compressing.
Forming a giant lion-head gauntlet.
Though hastily condensed, it weighed over a thousand pounds.
The lion-head gauntlet seemed to possess no weight, imbued with Haki, it was hurled by Sorte.
The two, inheriting from each other, could not break through their opponent's defenses.
Slowly, a bead of sweat trickled down Zephyr's forehead. After all, he was getting old.
He had been heavily injured during the Battle of the Scarlet Sea, his strength regressed, and he had focused on teaching in recent years.
He could once suppress Sorte with his accumulated experience, but ever since Sorte consumed the Devil Fruit and received his guidance, he had gradually found himself unable to keep up.
Seeing the sweat on Zephyr's forehead, Sorte momentarily zoned out.
Zephyr's lips curved slightly as he lunged at Sorte.
Sorte snapped back to reality and hastily blocked...
*BOOM*
A thunderous sound erupted.
Both retreated several steps and stopped.
Sorte shook the shattered rock gauntlet in his hand:
"So close, lost again."
Zephyr, both angry and amused:
"You won."
"Didn't anyone tell you your acting is terrible?"
"And you deliberately spaced out."
"You brat, I'm not that old yet."
"You don't need to let me win."
Sorte scratched his head, chuckling.
Zephyr also began to laugh, truly... he had grown up...