"Lord of Disasters seems very confident, so I'll be watching closely."
Issho reached out a hand, groping for the wine glass on the coffee table, and took a sip.
"You old blind fool can't even see, yet you talk about watching closely..."
The Sage laughed, "...if it's just about order, you won't be disappointed."
"It's hard to say now, Red Hair and Blackbeard have attacked your territory, triggering a war. Can you still guarantee your current order?"
Issho said, "Even if I can't see, I can predict that the New World won't be stable."
The Sage laughed mockingly, "There's never a place for stability in this world. Hasn't Mary Geoise, the Holy Land that ruled the world for eight hundred years, been continuously attacked? Eternal stability exists only in a Fantasy Land. Perhaps that dreamlike 'World Key,' One Piece, could achieve it?"
"When it comes down to it..."
He grabbed the wine glass and drank it all, shouting, "Stability is fought for continuously. There is no once-and-for-all method, and anyone who thinks there is will end up being destroyed by old rules!"
There are too many examples from my old home!
Rules change with the times, just like human habits vary in different environments; staying the same means death!
"The descendants of O'hara, your words are always so thought-provoking."
Issho nodded, "However, Lord of Disasters, I have a question. Two 'Four Emperors' attacked you, yet you don't seem worried. You shouldn't have lost anything important, but as your base, O'hara had no important items? Like the 'key' to control the world..."
"Ah, indeed, the landmarks were copied," the Sage said indifferently.
"I've heard Vegapunk's broadcast. One Piece isn't just pursued by pirates; the Navy and the World Government also want it. Your emotions don't seem affected?"
The Sage showed little emotional reaction, although his Observation sensed anger, it wasn't the burning rage nor urgency. Instead, it was a feeling of indignation after being insulted...
Such anger, compared to what he's faced, is negligible.
"Hehehehe..."
Upon hearing this, the Sage chuckled, "Issho, you've experienced much too. Tell me, is that so-called 'World Key' important, or is the territory I currently hold more significant? Is the treasure purported to have everything more tangible, or is my four million citizens and seventy thousand subordinates more real to me?"
Issho was silent for a moment, "Naturally the latter."
"Then back to the point. Before Roger, One Piece was merely called the 'Final Island,' an island no one in the world could reach. Including Lodestar Island, barely few reached there in the twenty years following Roger's death."
"So, how did the Final Island become One Piece? It was Roger's speech before he died; he said he left everything there..."
The Sage seemed to be telling a joke, revealing a happy expression.
"Here's the issue: this guy roamed the sea, became famous fifty years ago, was executed over twenty years ago. In his twenty or so years, he had no territory, personnel, probably not much money, otherwise Pluton Rayleigh wouldn't be pathetically selling himself as a slave in Shampodi."
"What is all he had worth?"
"Fame can serve as wealth if used well, but dead people's fame can't be utilized."
"Power? By reaching One Piece, can one summon the remnants from twenty years ago and wield the Pirate King's might again? What might does the Pirate King have? Continue to circle the world?"
"Pirates at sea are pitiful!"
The Sage laughed, "What good would it do for them to find One Piece? To get the new title of 'Pirate King'? Or to conquer the world with it? Even if Roger left treasures there, how much are they worth? More than my monthly expenses?"
"It's the dream of most pirates," Issho said in a deep voice.
"Of course, I don't mean to mock anyone's dreams, only that it's a collision between my own dreams and others'. After all, being a pirate means you do whatever the hell you want, and similarly..."
The Sage stood up, reached a hand out to the sea through the window, and grasped it heavily, "I never believe in any One Piece! I only believe in things I can hold in my hands!"
"The key to controlling the world? How does a key work? Getting One Piece grants Infinite Tsukuyomi? Making the whole world hallucinate equates to gaining the world? Why not just dream in bed, which is simpler and, if well done, half your life is in your hands freely, without fighting life-and-death battles, isn't that better?"
"I'm a pirate, not Columbus! Compared to finding new islands and continents, I prefer to plunder the places I wish to, and rule the worlds I discover!"
"Besides, what exactly constitutes the world?"
"A boundless sea?"
"Countless islands and lands?"
"Or those low-intelligence creatures?"
"None of those!!"
The Sage turned back to Issho, grimaced and said, "It's me! It's you! It's all talking, emotional, creative humans who form the world!"
"No humans, no us, no civilization we've built; what is the world? What concrete form does it have? Who the hell would care about such trivial matters!"
"Sea Kings? Do Sea Kings build structures? Do they make fires? Do they draw sea maps? Do they cook fine meals? They might not even qualify to please humans!"