After talking with Brulee for a while, Katakuri walked alone into Totto Land's great hall.
Looking up at Charlotte Linlin, who was constantly eating above him, he knelt and reported.
"Mama, Totto Land's first defensive line has been completely broken through by the Marines. Our people have already withdrawn and are urgently setting up defenses at the second line."
Boom!
An invisible pressure descended from above Katakuri's head, as though the person above him was a demon exuding the aura of hell itself.
Crack.
Fine cracks spread across the floor, and cold sweat appeared on Katakuri's body.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Charlotte Linlin walked down from her seat and stood in front of Katakuri.
"Tell me. Why did you fail to hold back the Marines' offensive?"
Katakuri raised his head and said calmly, "Mama, it was not because I did not try. The strong fighters sent by the Marines were simply too powerful. If it were only Knight of the Sea Jinbe, I would not be afraid. But he also had another Warlord helping him—the Pirate Empress, Hancock."
Katakuri seemed to still have lingering fear toward Boa Hancock's ability.
That strange power was terrifying. If not for Katakuri's special ability, which allowed him to create mochi to defend against it, he might have been petrified like the others.
"You are saying Jinbe of the Sun Pirates has sided with the Marines?"
Charlotte Linlin's eyes began turning red, as if she was about to fall into madness again.
"If that's the case, then Fish-Man Island no longer needs to exist."
In the past, Jinbe and Big Mom had once made an agreement.
Big Mom would protect Fish-Man Island from other pirates, while Jinbe would do certain things for Big Mom as compensation.
Later, the matter ended after the Marines took over Fish-Man Island, but Big Mom unilaterally believed that Jinbe had failed to uphold their agreement.
"Gather the other members of the family and prepare for a full-scale war against the Marines."
...
Inside the Fleet Admiral's office at New Marineford, Aramaki and Issho were sitting on the sofa.
Raleigh, meanwhile, was reading through the files in his hand with a serious expression.
Aramaki kept secretly observing this young commander, as if trying to understand what made Raleigh special.
Unlike Aramaki, Issho was not so excited after meeting Raleigh.
Instead, he held a teacup in his hands and drank the freshly brewed tea with a calm, relaxed expression.
After a long while, Issho slightly opened his eyes and spoke with emotion.
"Before I came here, this old man thought Fleet Admiral Raleigh would be an iron-blooded, emotionless soldier, or perhaps a cruel and ruthless one. It seems I underestimated the people of this world."
"No matter how I sense it, I cannot detect any malice in Fleet Admiral Raleigh's heart. It is as though Fleet Admiral Raleigh holds no ill will toward anything in this world. May this old man ask why?"
Raleigh looked somewhat confused.
He did not quite understand what Issho meant, so he could only say, "Mr. Issho, forgive me, but I do not understand your meaning. Why would I hold malice toward everything in this world? I think this world is beautiful, so why would my heart be full of ill will?"
Aramaki also found Raleigh's words unbelievable.
Because in his understanding, Raleigh was someone who hated pirates to the bone.
As long as someone was a pirate, whether good or bad, they had to die.
How could such a person have no malice toward pirates?
Aramaki immediately spoke.
"But Fleet Admiral Raleigh, I carefully read the stories about you that have spread outside. I discovered that from the very beginning, your attitude toward pirates has always been one of total extermination. How could that possibly contain no malice?"
Raleigh suddenly understood.
He nodded, then shook his head and asked in return, "You misunderstand."
"Malice is something that only appears when you care about something."
"We breathe air every day. Tell me, how many people have ever felt malice toward air?"
Raleigh's meaning was already very clear.
In his eyes, pirates did not count as people at all.
They were no different from air or mud, to him, killing them did not even qualify as slaughter.
A worried expression appeared on Issho's face.
"But among those pirates, as far as this old man knows, some truly have not committed any great crimes. I even know a few pirate crews that once helped civilians resist the harassment of mafia groups and other pirates."
Seeing this, Raleigh took out a file and handed it over.
"Mr. Issho, before discussing this question, I think you should first take a look at this report jointly compiled by the World Government and the Marines on the damage pirates have caused to the world."
"The World Government once issued an order strictly forbidding private individuals from going out to sea and regarded pirates as villains who challenged the law. Therefore, in my understanding, they are simply lawless criminals who refuse to obey order."
"If someone wants to travel around the world, they can simply become a free traveler. The World Government does not care about travelers. Yet they insist on hanging up a pirate flag to show off how different they are."
"We will never place our hopes on the kindness of criminals. The order of the Marines is to use iron methods and bloody facts to tell the world that anyone who becomes a pirate must die."
Aramaki's face revealed an almost unimaginable joy and fanaticism.
"That's exactly right, Fleet Admiral Raleigh!"
"You are the coolest man I have ever seen in my life! As expected of my idol!"
In Aramaki's eyes, there was not much difference between people.
He felt that everything in the world could be divided into things that could be absorbed and things that were difficult to absorb.
Toward anyone, he could also feel no malice.
Raleigh remained silent for a moment before speaking.
"Now the battles between the Marines, the Revolutionary Army, and the pirates have all begun at the same time. The two of you have traveled all the way from the Grand Line and should already have some understanding of the situation."
"I would like to ask both of you what you think of the Marines now, and which battlefield you would like to visit."
Aramaki immediately said, "Fleet Admiral Raleigh, from the moment I began my journey to New Marineford, I have deeply admired your management. I believe that such a Marine force is worthy of being the strongest overlord on this sea."
"As for my own thoughts, I would like to go to the Four Blues. I also deeply admire Admiral Sakazuki, and I think cooperating with Admiral Sakazuki would be very interesting."
Issho also nodded.
"Indeed. Sir Aramaki is right."
"From what this old man has experienced during the journey here, whether they are high-ranking officers or ordinary soldiers, the Marines are filled with an incredibly firm belief. It is truly admirable."
"However, I feel that sometimes the Marines' methods may be too merciless. Regardless of whether there are people among the enemy who were forced to participate, they are still completely annihilated."
"Does such behavior not violate the principles of Marine justice?"
Aramaki was extremely displeased, because this was precisely the part of Raleigh he liked the most.
"Hey! Issho!"
Raleigh chuckled and interrupted Aramaki.
"Mr. Issho is indeed correct. But I will tell you why."
"Because I am the Fleet Admiral. I am the highest commander of the Marines."
"I cannot issue lenient orders to Marine soldiers simply because some among the enemy may have been forced into participating. Doing so would lead to the sacrifice of many innocent Marine soldiers."
"As Fleet Admiral, what I must consider is the overall situation: the safety of people across the world and the safety of Marine soldiers, not the lives of one or two innocent individuals."