A sinister smile curled Carol's lips:
"Yes."
However, that smile suggested nothing good.
Robin, standing beside him, blinked almost imperceptibly. That smile was far too familiar, truly a bloodline inheritance, so devious…
Robin seemed to recall something, hesitated, and then spoke:
"Wait."
"After what happened, would they really agree to a call?"
"And if they do have a conversation,"
"Wouldn't the news of the New World spreading to the entire world through them significantly impact the Navy?"
"Wouldn't it be better to let the public know after the war ends?"
Few in the Four Seas knew of the events in the New World, beyond its borders. After all, it had only happened last night, and it was now the morning of the second day.
For the news to spread worldwide, it would at least require newspapers to make it widely known, which would take some time.
But if they were to have this conversation, it would likely be broadcast live to the entire world…
Carol said with a smile:
"Who says a conversation must involve letting them speak…"
Robin froze for a moment, then helplessly put her hand to her forehead.
Alright, she hadn't thought of that, but that was just…
So cruel…
Carol looked at Robin's helpless expression and shrugged, smiling.
Sakazuki, gazing into the distance, spoke calmly:
"Pirates are scum."
"They pursue a freedom that transcends rules."
"Lawlessness is their byword."
"And such freedom is often accompanied by individual heroism."
"They make themselves known to the world by causing slaughter and promoting their might, but these are all rather base."
"Conversely, to have a dialogue and meeting that could be recorded in history."
"Can they refuse?"
"With the war reaching this stage, the leaders of both factions talking."
"Can they retreat?"
"What do you think this dialogue is?"
"Is it a chat, followed by mutual admiration, and then a final battle where they start the game of life with respect and admiration, after which the loser is buried with honors?"
Sakazuki chuckled, looking into the distance, his tone leisurely:
"Do they even deserve that?"
"I'm not that bored, nor am I a fool like Sengoku or Garp."
"Their only remaining value."
"Is to act like clowns and put on a mime show called 'Rage of the Incompetent' for the world's people tomorrow."
"To amuse the world…"
Carol, beside him, smiled and chimed in:
"This is also what they can do for the world."
"Their last contribution…"
------------
This world-shattering news.
It spread through the New World in just half a day.
Even Blackbeard and Shanks, who were lost at sea and could see nothing but ocean, were notified by the other two Emperors and were discussing tomorrow's dialogue.
Newspapers and Den Den Moshis around the world were also working day and night.
They wanted to spread this explosive news to the entire world overnight with the greatest possible force…
In the evening.
New Marineford.
The Marshal's office.
Carol stretched his neck, finished the last document, and stood up, walking to the window to take a deep breath, which he slowly exhaled:
"Hoo—"
Relaxing his mood.
He turned back to the desk, picked up the files, distributed them to each department, and then left the massive fortress. Returning home, he used his ability.
*Swish—*
He vanished instantly.
A moment later, he reappeared, holding two boxes full of sweets, with chocolate and pudding making up the majority.
"Hmm?"
"Robin."
Carol, who had just returned, saw Robin sitting on the sofa inside and said:
"Is something wrong?"
Robin sat on the sofa, resting her chin on her hand, and smiled at Carol:
"Nothing, just a bit bored."
Her tone was slightly odd:
"Is this…?"
He was holding a pink box, and the air was filled with a rich sweet aroma, clearly containing sweets, but it didn't look like they were for a man…
Carol placed the sweets on the table:
"The last meal of a little girl."
Robin blinked:
"A little girl?"
Carol nodded and said:
"That's right."
"The last three-eyed tribe on the sea."
Robin fell silent.
She, who was knowledgeable in history, knew what the three-eyed tribe represented:
"The three-eyed tribe capable of deciphering the Poneglyphs…"
She couldn't help but think of the destruction of Ohara, which was also due to deciphering the Poneglyphs.
However, from her recent understanding of the Navy, Carol, and Sakazuki, such a crime seemed insignificant to them.
Because it wouldn't affect their plans. This war, which would determine the fate of the world, was not something a little girl who could decipher Poneglyphs could influence.
Robin was filled with doubt:
"Awakened?"
Carol smiled and said:
"Does it matter?"
Robin opened her mouth, but then, considering their theories of world control, she shook her head, indicating she didn't know.
Carol sighed slightly:
"It doesn't matter."
"What matters is that, apart from the World Government and us,"
"The pirates on the sea, their method to break the Poneglyphs."
"Only this one three-eyed tribe gives them a sliver of hope, or they need to find the 'Devil Child' who escaped from Ohara."
"These are the only two options for the pirates."
"They can't find the 'Devil Child', so the only person left who can decipher the Poneglyphs is this three-eyed tribe."
"Her life or death is actually irrelevant."
"But the meaning she represents is very important."
"She represents the final shred of hope for the pirates being extinguished, leaving these great pirates who have strived for decades completely without the 'key' to becoming the Pirate King."
"For these lawless pirates, the most cruel method."
"Is to have their dreams, everything they possess, their companions, their kin, shattered by the Navy, so they experience the agony of life itself."
Carol's smile widened, and his words made Robin feel a sense of unfamiliarity. He himself seemed to notice his own lapse, and took a breath, saying:
"Is it very cruel?"
Robin shook her head and whispered:
"No."
"Perhaps for those who have had their lives ruined by pirates."
"Such a method would be the most satisfying."
Carol said:
"Yes."
"That's why the Navy receives so much support from the world's people. They hate them…"
"But they are powerless, too weak. Simply surviving is difficult, so how can they expect revenge?"
"But with the appearance of Fleet Admiral Sakazuki, they found hope."
"They learned that there was a Fleet Admiral who would torment and kill those pirates with the most cruel methods."
"They chose to support the Navy to the best of their ability, offering money and effort."
"Some countries that were massacred by pirates, during the Great World Recruitment, had nearly their entire young generation enlist. Can you imagine the depth of their hatred?"
Carol sighed faintly, his memories becoming hazy:
"It's not just the people; it's the Navy too."
"Fleet Admiral Sakazuki never mentioned his family, but he has been alone all these years."
"Instructor Zephyr, when he was an Admiral, his wife was killed by pirates. If Enel hadn't arrived in time, Spandam wouldn't have survived."
"But the Spandam who survived lost his mother."
"My hometown was massacred by pirates. Fortunately, Fleet Admiral Sakazuki, who was patrolling the Four Seas years ago, saved me when I was on the verge of death."
"Many elite Vice Admirals in the Navy, like Doberman and Onigumo, were orphans rescued by Fleet Admiral Sakazuki during his campaigns against pirates during that period."
"A large portion of the Navy's high-ranking officers have such experiences."
"It is these experiences that have forged the current Navy, their almost fanatical faith in Fleet Admiral Sakazuki, and their unparalleled execution and cohesion."
"This is something no previous Navy institution could achieve."
"And facing the hostility of the entire world and such a Navy, what can those sea scum use to resist?"
"They can only watch helplessly as everything they have is destroyed and annihilated, their decades of striving ending in vain with nothing left."
"To let them personally experience the pain they inflicted upon the world, and then die in despair."
"This is the most cruel punishment for them."
"And it is the Navy's reckoning with this world…"
------------
New Marineford.
The prison deep underground.
*Swish—*
Carol and Robin, carrying the dessert boxes, arrived here.
After the somewhat oppressive conversation upstairs, Robin had proposed meeting the little girl who could also decipher 'Poneglyphs'.
And so, this scene unfolded.
Robin's gaze swept around the small prison carved out of the earth. It wasn't large, with only one cell in the center, but there were plenty of ventilation shafts and stairs.
Behind the bars of the central cell.
A 'girl' with orange hair sat curled up against the wall.
Although her appearance was mature, her body, facial expression, and demeanor were like a sleeping girl, creating a strange sense of incongruity.
A few seconds after the two appeared, the orange-haired 'girl's' nose twitched. As if smelling the scent from the dessert boxes, she opened her eyes in surprise:
"Charlotte Cake Island's raw chocolate and pudding!"
She looked towards the outside of the cell, clearly already familiar with Carol.
Carol smiled, shaking the box in his hand:
"All your favorites."
He opened the cell door and walked in, placing it beside Pudding. Robin followed, looking at the orange-haired 'girl'.
Pudding said a thank you, took the box, and then looked at Robin beside her:
"Who is this?"
She looked at Carol with a hint of a smile, seemingly curious about Carol and Robin's relationship.
Carol understood her thoughts, shook his head, and said:
"What are you thinking? Eat up quickly."
Pudding chuckled, opened the box, and was pleasantly surprised:
"So abundant."
"What day is it today?"
The two dessert boxes were filled with sweets from Whole Cake Island, various kinds in different sizes, all her favorite flavors.
However, Carol remained silent, sighing softly.
As Pudding reached for her favorite Whole Cake Island pudding, her arm paused almost imperceptibly, then she acted as if nothing had happened, picked up the pudding, and put it in her mouth.
Her face was full of bliss, with a hint of a blush:
"Delicious~"
Carol nodded and said:
"Eat more if you like it."
"I 'stole' it specifically for you from Cake Island."
Pudding's smile widened, and she nodded, saying:
"Don't worry."
"I will definitely not let your kindness go to waste."
"I'll eat it all."
Her smile didn't diminish, and her movements of eating the sweets became faster, as if trying to suppress something with the sweets…
But in the end, tears streamed down her face uncontrollably, falling from the sides:
"Why…"
Her body trembled continuously…
She suddenly looked up, her face contorted, and her tear-reddened eyes stared intently at Carol. She lunged forward and began to beat his body, sobbing and roaring:
"Why don't you treat me like an ugly monster!"
"Why can you treat me like a normal person!"
"Why do you praise my disgusting eyes as beautiful, why!!!!!!"
"Aren't you the Navy! I'm a pirate! Why don't you treat me like that!!!!!!"
"Waaaaah—"
As if all her strength had left her, she covered her face with her hands and collapsed to the floor:
"Why…"
If she had been treated that way, she would have had no regrets in dying, after all, her past life had been filled with such treatment and malicious words throughout her childhood.
But it wasn't…
Everything here was different from Whole Cake Island. There was no malice, only being treated as a normal person, or having her eyes praised as beautiful.
These were things she had never experienced before.
There was no scheming, no hateful people calling her an ugly monster.
Although she was captured, she had experienced a dream-like scenario, so captivating that she didn't want to wake up…
The underground prison fell silent for a long time, with only Pudding's gradually fading sobs.
After an unknown amount of time.
As if she had cried all her tears dry, Pudding wiped her eyes and suddenly smiled:
"Sorry."
"My emotions were a bit unstable just now."
"The sweets were delicious."
"Thank you."
She no longer looked at them, but lowered her head and continued to eat the sweets, with a slow and deliberate manner…
Carol silently placed a handkerchief and turned to leave.
Robin also felt a heavy heart, glanced deeply at the girl, and turned to follow Carol.
The prison was sealed again.
Only the sound of slow chewing remained.
The sweets in the dessert boxes were finished one by one.
She even left no crumbs, and finally licked the cream from her fingers, picked up the handkerchief Carol had left, carefully wiped her hands and face, and put it away.
She walked to a corner, leaned against the wall, and stared blankly at the ceiling.
If she had had the courage to run away with Lola that year…
She might have experienced a life she had never imagined, both good and bad.
But any life should have been better than on Whole Cake Island.
Without the amplified evil among the pirates.
If she had been a little luckier.
Would she be the one standing beside Carol today…
"How lucky you are, Nico Robin…"
Yes.
She recognized her.
Her fellow being, who could also decipher Poneglyphs…
Leaning against the wall, thinking for a long time.
Pudding, who felt a sense of release, slowly closed her eyes and fell asleep, preparing to face her death tomorrow.
Perhaps dreaming of something.
A faint smile played on her lips…
------------
The next day, at noon.
In the plaza of New Marineford, soldiers stood in formation.
Their faces were filled with pride and fervor, waiting for that person to appear on the execution platform.
Reporters who had rushed overnight, ignoring their disheveled appearances, had their cameras working constantly, not wanting to miss a single second.
On the execution platform.
The Poneglyph, originally embedded in the execution platform, was now placed on a massive device after the platform was expanded.
Reporters frantically photographed it, wanting to capture as much of this Poneglyph-destroying object as possible on their cameras.
Beside the massive device.
An orange-haired 'girl' in shackles was pierced through the legs and nailed to the execution platform, but her face was calm, as if she had made all the preparations.
As time slowly ticked by.
The approach of noon drew nearer. When the reporters' watches struck twelve.
An indescribable aura permeated heaven and earth. Everything on the island and in front of the Transponder Snail fell silent.
*Tap—*
*Tap—*
*Tap—*
The crisp sound of leather shoes echoed in the ears of everyone on the island.
Even from a great distance, the reporters could hear it clearly, as if it were right beside them.
This clear footsteps, each step, shook people's hearts, robbing them of all ability to think, until…
*Tap—*
The sound of leather shoes fell.
An indescribable aura swept through, and people snapped back to reality.
That figure, with a Justice cape fluttering behind him, as if supporting the heavens,
Had already appeared on the execution platform!!!