Hearing the open-minded and relaxed views coming from Carlo caused a tremendous shock to Robin. For a long time, she couldn't recover from it…
After all, generations of Ohara scholars had secretly researched history for hundreds of years, yet they still couldn't escape the World Government's wrath. Everything happened because they wanted to uncover the truth of history.
And now, this new World Federal Government was saying it simply didn't care. It was as if a treasure you had protected for centuries was casually glanced at by someone else, tossed aside, and then stepped on a few times…
The comparison wasn't entirely accurate, but it perfectly described Robin's feelings at this moment.
Looking at the dazed Robin, Carlo asked, "Is it really that strange?"
Robin's expression was complicated. She nodded slightly, then shook her head.
If it was an order from that Fleet Admiral, then it wasn't strange at all.
That man's style had always been straightforward and aboveboard. He had never cared about reputation or appearances. Anyone could see that from the time he publicly displayed pirate heads in the newspapers…
Carlo shrugged. "History exists so people can remember. It can be a legacy. It can be a spirit passed down through generations. But it can't save the world.
"It can't eliminate enemies, it can't feed people, and it can't bring back the Marine soldiers who sacrificed their lives to create this new world.
"Not to mention..."
Carlo stood up and looked toward the door just as a figure wearing a Justice coat walked in.
"Sakazuki's" indifferent voice sounded through the room.
"Everything we've done was right. There's nothing to hide, is there?"
As he spoke, he gestured downward, signaling Carlo and Robin to remain seated. Then he walked to Carlo's desk, sat down, and picked up the documents the surveillance chief had left behind.
Robin sat quietly on the sofa below, feeling somewhat absent-minded as she murmured, "Nothing to hide..."
Was that the difference between the new World Federal Government and the old World Government?
Just that simple phrase. Nothing to hide.
Perhaps if those words had existed before, so many people wouldn't have died.
After flipping through a couple of pages, "Sakazuki" put the documents down.
"That's right. Nothing to hide."
He looked at Robin and asked, "Do you think I was wrong to destroy the World Government?"
Robin shook her head.
Whether from a fair and objective perspective or from her own personal standpoint, the destruction of the World Government had been a good thing for the world.
"Sakazuki" chuckled. "Then was I wrong for wiping out the pirates and eliminating the Four Emperors, ending the pirate scourge once and for all?"
Robin shook her head again.
"Then what about destroying the Celestial Dragons? Was it wrong to free the nations of the world from the burden of Heavenly Tribute?"
She shook her head once more.
"Sakazuki" continued, "Then what about using the Revolutionary Army as part of my plan to drag the world out of the agricultural age and purge the nobility? Was that wrong?"
Robin hesitated briefly before shaking her head again. This time, however, there was a trace of relief in her eyes.
That's right. The Marines like this had no reason to hide anything.
Only shameful deeds needed to be concealed. After accomplishing so much, why would they need to hide? There was simply no need…
Leaning back in his chair, "Sakazuki" said, "For forty-one years of military service, I walked on thin ice every single day. Not once did I allow myself to rest. I overthrew the government, destroyed the nobility, and eradicated the pirates. I dragged this entire world from an agricultural civilization into the industrial age and set it on the path toward a technological era.
"Was any of that wrong? If it was, future generations will judge me. But if it wasn't, why should anything be hidden?"
Robin smiled bitterly and nodded.
Yes. He was right.
Looking at Robin's bitter smile, "Sakazuki" smiled as well. A strange expression crossed his face.
"But there are also many things I've done that even I can't judge.
"Tell me this. If the pirate Roger slaughtered over five thousand soldiers of a nation's army because of a simple dispute, affecting thousands of families and creating tens of thousands of widows and orphans, can that hatred truly be erased?
"I handed the choice of revenge over to the people. Was that wrong?
"Should the child of a pirate be adopted by a Marine admiral and live the kind of life those tens of thousands of widows and orphans could only dream of? Or should the people who suffered because of Roger's crimes be allowed to decide whether to forgive his sins and spare his surviving child?
"If you were one of those people, would you choose the admiral who adopted the pirate's child? Or would you chant the name of the admiral who brought you hope?"
Robin thought for a moment before answering, "I would chant the name of the admiral who brought them hope.
"If the blade never cuts your own flesh, you'll never understand that kind of pain. No one has the right to forgive Roger on their behalf.
"You can only call it karma, I suppose… He slaughtered more than five thousand people over a mere argument. That's..."
"Sakazuki" lightly tapped the armrest of his chair with a finger and chuckled. "Yes… And so Roger's son died. His wife died. Even the admiral who wanted to adopt that child died as well.
"Karma. That's all it was."
After a soft sigh, he looked at Robin.
"Back during the Ohara Incident, I ordered the evacuation ship to be shelled. Every innocent civilian aboard died. As a survivor, do you think I was wrong?"
Robin shook her head. A trace of loneliness appeared in her expression.
"About that incident... Carlo-san told me before that the order came from the World Government. The Golden Den Den Mushi was given to CP9 by then-Admiral Sengoku.
"To the people of Ohara, you were a devil. A god of death. To the Marines present at the time, you were a hero who carried all the blame upon yourself.
"I am a survivor of Ohara, that's true. But I can't give a definitive answer.
"Different positions lead to different conclusions. You can't place all the blame on the person carrying out the order. Because once an order is given, someone will always be there to execute it...
"The destruction of Ohara was inevitable."
"Sakazuki" had not expected such an answer. It was so impartial that it sounded as though she were a bystander rather than a survivor.
He paused briefly before smiling and shaking his head. "Then what about this? For the sake of victory, I buried hundreds of thousands of people in the New World."
His voice became quieter. "Was I wrong?"
Robin opened her mouth, unsure how to answer.
Before she could speak, "Sakazuki" suddenly shook his head, and his calm voice echoed through the room.
"I was wrong. There's no need to deny it. And no need to justify it.
"Hundreds of thousands of lives. That's more than all the pirates I've ever killed combined.
"And besides… I paid the price, didn't I?"
Robin stared at him, confused by the sudden remark.
"The price?"
"Sakazuki" chuckled softly. "Not even a body left behind. Well?"
The corner of his mouth curved upward. "Karma. That's all it was."
His tone was casual, as if being reduced to nothing and leaving no remains behind was insignificant…
Yet beside Robin, Carlo couldn't stop a trace of sadness from flashing across his eyes. He quietly turned his head away.
Robin looked at "Sakazuki" with a complicated expression. After a long silence, she finally asked, "Do you regret it?"
The method he had chosen to destroy all darkness in the world had ultimately required him to perish alongside that darkness.
"Sakazuki" shook his head, and a faint emotion appeared in his otherwise indifferent voice.
"I shattered the barrier that hung over this world. I ended thousands of years of darkness. I eradicated the source of suffering in this world. I saved countless billions yet to come.
"A feat like that… Why would I regret it?"
The moment he finished speaking, he didn't linger on the topic.
Pulling a page from the stack of surveillance reports on the desk, he slapped it onto the tabletop and stood up.
As he walked toward the door, he said, "There's no need to keep monitoring this one. 'Slave Island?' From this day forward, slavery will no longer exist anywhere in this world. We'll start with him."
Carlo rose from the sofa and looked toward the departing "Sakazuki."
"Understood."
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