It was dinnertime that evening, and everyone was happily chatting after eating and drinking their fill.
Yemu suddenly clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention.
"Everyone, I have a new idea. I want to build a nation!"
"A nation?!"
In an instant, everyone froze. They could not quite process why Yemu had suddenly said something like that.
Noticing the strange looks on their faces, Yemu began to speak slowly under the glow of the Lamp Dials.
"Ever since we entered the New World, I've been thinking about two questions. The first is this. Where does the future path of the Sky Pirates lead? Is it becoming the Pirate King? That sounds like a goal, but what comes after that? Roger became the Pirate King, but did he really change anything?"
"The second question is this. Why do we want to become like the Pirate King? What does that title actually mean to us? Charlotte Linlin said that Laugh Tale holds the answers to every question, but can those answers really solve everything? And are they even the answers we want?"
As soon as Yemu raised those two questions, everyone fell silent in thought.
"At first, I did not have an answer. But after arriving in Charlotte Linlin's Totto Land, I suddenly had an idea. I do not agree with her methods, but her ideal is not wrong. To build a world where all races can live together in peace, a world without slavery or oppression."
"The freedom of pirates is precious, yes, but that freedom belongs only to a handful of people. It is just like the people and animals we had no choice but to settle on the island where the Longleg Tribe lives. Our ship is still too small. It cannot carry that many people, and we are constantly being hunted by the Marines and the World Government. But if we had a nation of our own, things would be different. In that case..."
As he spoke, Yemu looked at Tiger.
"The dream of the Merfolk living under the sun could become reality..."
Then he looked at Erik and Ayala.
"The ordinary people of Flevance, persecuted by the World Government and tormented by Amber Lead Syndrome, would have somewhere to go after being rescued..."
Then he turned to the Kuro Brothers.
"Dr. Kuro's dream of creating a fantasy kingdom might be something you can bring to life with your own hands..."
Then he looked at Ron and Gaos.
"You would never have to worry about the Donquixote Family again, and the Dwarves could live alongside the other races."
At last, he looked at Enel, Flare, and BABY-5.
"And we would have a home of our own."
With every sentence Yemu spoke, the eyes of the person he addressed grew brighter.
Then Yemu said something none of them could refuse.
He looked at Erik and asked,
"Don't you want the child you and Loralei have to be born into a world where merfolk and humans live as equals? Or would you rather she be born into the same discrimination we faced, and suffer the same pain you endured?"
At that moment, the embarrassed flush on Erik's face vanished, replaced by excitement. He gripped the sword in his hand tightly.
"I would never allow that! Captain, just tell me what I need to do. To make this dream come true, I'm willing to sacrifice everything!"
Yemu nodded, looked at everyone, then turned to Flare.
"The fate of the next generation is theirs to decide, but if there are hardships we can spare them from, why leave those burdens to them? Wouldn't it be better for them to live happily?"
At that moment, everyone's eyes lit up as they sank into visions of that beautiful future.
Only Enel asked, a little puzzled,
"How is this any different from us finding territory for ourselves later?"
"That's a good question, Enel."
Yemu looked at him with approval, and Enel was caught off guard for a moment.
Then Yemu turned to everyone else.
"Territory is just land, just an island. Anyone can occupy it. But a nation is different. As we build it, every one of us will leave our will within it. That way, maybe one day we will die, maybe we will fail, but our will can still be passed on through that nation and its people."
At that moment, in everyone's eyes, Yemu seemed to stand taller than ever.
There was something almost divine about him.
For the first time in his life, Tiger felt truly grateful that he had joined the Sky Pirates.
For the sake of his future wife and family, Erik's gaze had never been more resolute.
BABY-5 and Ayala looked at their captain with eyes full of admiration.
The Kuro Brothers were so happy they were almost in tears. Building a fantasy kingdom and fulfilling the doctor's dream was a path they had never even imagined before.
Ron and Gaos were filled with shock. For the first time, they truly understood the charisma of Yemu, the captain of the Sky Pirates.
A family. Even Enel's eyes filled with anticipation.
As for Flare, she already seemed to be imagining a warm future together with Yemu.
Then Yemu stretched out his hand in front of everyone.
No extra words were needed. One after another, everyone reached out and stacked their hands together.
Yemu looked around at them all.
"Then let's work toward that goal together!"
"Yeah!"
…
Now that their goal for the future had been decided, everyone began putting their heads together to figure out how to build the nation Yemu had described.
As beautiful as that goal was, the more they thought about it, the more problems they found.
"From the looks of it, with the Marines specifically sending people into the New World to hunt us down, this definitely won't be easy."
Tiger spoke with a grave expression.
"Yeah."
Yemu nodded.
"That's our first challenge, but for us, it's also an opportunity."
"An opportunity?"
Everyone stared at him in surprise.
Yemu spoke with a faint note of excitement.
"Yes. Pirates founding a nation is something the Marines and the World Government would never accept, no matter what. So to eliminate future trouble, or at least make sure the Marines and the World Government do not dare come after us so easily, this time I plan to hand the Marines a defeat they will never forget. A lesson so painful they will think twice before making trouble for us again."
As he spoke, Yemu looked around at everyone.
"So from here on, on top of our original plan, we'll need to take some risks."
"First, what we urgently lack on this ship is a scientist. Let's go to Alchemi Island first and take a look. If we can successfully find the creator of Pure Gold, that would be ideal. If not, then we'll have no choice but to risk going to Punk Hazard..."
"As for the rest, once Kuromi's time is up, we'll need to make a trip to Impel Down. There are far too many interesting Devil Fruits there, and they'll be a huge help when we establish our nation in the future. We can't just leave them there to go to waste..."
...
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