Watching everyone disappear, he finally spoke:

“Vice Admiral Sakazuki.”

“Isn’t this a bit… inappropriate?”

Sakazuki shook his head:

“No problem. It was my order.”

…

Night aboard the warship.

The warship escorted by Sakazuki slowly sailed out of the port of Karakuri Island.

Following the sea route several nautical miles wide,

They headed toward the Sabaody Archipelago.

Inside a temporarily cleared-out room—

Splash—!

Sakazuki was flipping through the newspaper.

Clack clack!

The sound of the doorknob turning echoed.

Enel pushed the door open and entered, face full of excitement:

“Dr. Vegapunk is amazing!!!”

Sakazuki put down the newspaper:

“You’ve been conquered in just half a day, huh.”

Enel scratched his head a little embarrassed:

“Seriously, his blueprints, his designs…”

“They’re just—!!!!”

“Way too advanced!”

“At least two or three hundred years ahead of current technology.”

“And some of his flying device designs…”

“The parameters look way stronger than Admonition.”

Sakazuki said:

“Then make sure to learn well from Dr. Vegapunk.”

“We’re still quite far from the Sabaody Archipelago.”

“More than a month’s journey.”

“Speaking of which…”

“You’re not just here for this, right? Not this late.”

Only then did Enel remember the matter that had been weighing on his heart all day.

He paused for a moment, then spoke:

“I saw those people who were experimented on…”

Sakazuki looked at Enel and said:

“So?”

Enel looked a bit depressed:

“It was terrible…”

He opened his mouth, but couldn’t find the words to describe that cruel laboratory.

Sakazuki spoke:

“So what you want to ask is—”

“Why not execute those scientists, right?”

To Enel, whose life experience was still short, the worst he’d encountered were the pirates who killed Admiral Zephyr family.

But the cruel experiments carried out by these insane scientists were arguably even more atrocious.

Enel felt confused for a moment.

Why not execute them? Why bring them back?

Earlier that day, Enel had already heard from Sakazuki that the government wouldn’t punish them.

They would even have them work for the government.

Sakazuki gave Enel a moment to think.

Then he said:

“If it were you, what would you do?”

Enel didn’t know how to answer.

Sakazuki continued:

“Think freely.”

“You are the person in charge of this event, or the one holding power in the government.”

“Put yourself in their shoes.”

“What would you do?”

Enel was silent for a moment, then said:

“I would order their elimination.”

Sakazuki nodded:

“Very good.”

“Now think again.”

“These scientists possess technology five hundred years ahead of the world.”

“As someone in power, would you still eliminate them?”

“After all, if you control them, you control the future.”

“How would you choose?”

Enel opened his mouth, but said nothing.

Sakazuki continued:

“Furthermore—”

“These scientists have the most brilliant minds in the world.”

“If you gain control of them—”

“You could have them develop high-yield crops.”

“Cold-resistant, drought-resistant plants that would allow even the poorest countries to be self-sufficient.”

“You could have them create powerful weapons—”

“Even civilians could defeat pirates with the right firearms and ammunition.”

“You could have them develop efficient tools—”

“Tools that would make communication across the seas no longer a barrier.”

“What would you choose?”

Enel fell completely silent. He couldn’t bring himself to say the word “execute.”

Because those benefits, whether for the government or the people of the world, were immense.

If the future were sacrificed for the sake of a few lives—

It clearly wouldn’t be an equal trade.

Sakazuki looked at the silent Enel:

“There is no absolute fairness in this world.”

“The value of people is not equal.”

“If a general who intimidates enemy nations were executed by the king for killing a few civilians—”

“And the enemy nations, seeing that the deterrent was gone, destroyed that country, killing tens of thousands and displacing hundreds of thousands—”

“Would that result make fairness the right choice?”

“Fairness depends on the value it holds.”

“The only thing we can do is choose the best possible outcome.”

“The dead cannot come back to life.”

“The living must walk toward the future.”

“If for the sake of the dead, you ruin the future of the living—”

“That is a grave mistake on top of a mistake.”

Enel thought for a moment, then exhaled, lowering his head:

“Alright, you’ve convinced me.”

Sakazuki shook his head:

“That’s just one corner of it.”

“When we get to the Sabaody Archipelago—”

“I’ll let you see more of this world’s darkness and inequality.”

“We can’t be perfect.”

“Sunlight can’t shine on every inch of land.”

“Where there is light, there will be shadow.”

“What we must do is strive for fairness as best we can.”

“And wait for the right moment…”

Suddenly, Enel extended his Observation Haki. Sakazuki raised an eyebrow.

Then he watched as Enel walked over and asked softly:

“Uncle, are you planning a rebellion?”

Sakazuki looked at Enel’s nervous and excited face.

He shook his head, smiled, and said:

“Where’d you hear a word like that—rebellion?”

“Sounds so unpleasant.”

Sakazuki’s voice echoed softly—

“It should be called—”

“Usurpation!”

“Of power!”

—

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