Not long after Arashi parted ways with Drake, Perona and Robin appeared on the street ahead of him.
"Arashi, two pirate crews got away!"
The moment she saw him, Perona floated over at top speed, pouting as she spoke in a somewhat dejected tone.
"There were just too many pirates. Robin and I..."
"It's alright, Loli."
Arashi gently rubbed her little head.
"You've already done very well."
"Even if we managed to kill every pirate in this city, it wouldn't change what has already happened here."
Perona nodded, half understanding and half confused.
She couldn't fully grasp the meaning behind Arashi's words yet.
But that didn't matter.
As far as she was concerned, whatever Arashi said was right.
All she needed to do was listen.
Robin remained silent.
More than anyone, she could empathize with the tragedy unfolding here.
She had experienced something similar herself.
Precisely because she had gone through it before, she was able to face the cruelty and darkness of the world with greater composure.
Of course, she was no longer facing it alone.
"Let's go."
Arashi looked around before speaking calmly.
"Walk through the city with me."
Then he continued forward.
Perona and Robin obediently followed at his side.
Neither spoke.
Both could clearly sense that Arashi was in an exceptionally bad mood.
And they were right.
This was the worst mood Arashi had been in since arriving in this world.
He had always adhered to a simple principle:
Don't interfere in the affairs of this world.
Don't join any faction.
Yet after entering the capital and seeing even infants slaughtered in the streets, he simply couldn't remain indifferent.
Even after killing every pirate he encountered, his mood hadn't improved.
Because while tracking down pirates throughout the city, he'd witnessed far too many horrific scenes.
The image that affected him the most was the sight of those two young mothers protecting their children with their lives.
The impact lingered.
Before arriving in this world, Arashi had always believed that the root of its corruption was the Celestial Dragons.
Or perhaps the World Government.
Even after coming here, he had continued to think so.
But after witnessing what happened in the Kingdom of Hauting, he realized he'd been wrong.
The true source of this world's darkness wasn't the Celestial Dragons.
Nor was it the World Government.
It was power.
Specifically—
Devil Fruit powers.
Once someone obtained a Devil Fruit ability, they could easily wipe out an entire village or town of defenseless civilians and plunder everything they owned.
The ordinary people had no way to resist.
All they could do was place their hopes in the Marines.
Because even if they armed themselves, they stood no chance against Devil Fruit users.
Pirates.
Bandits.
Underworld syndicates.
They rarely dared challenge the Marines directly.
But targeting civilians?
Fighting local kingdom armies?
That was easy.
As a result, more and more Devil Fruit users joined the madness of looting, murder, and destruction.
When the Marines arrived, they ran.
When the Marines left, they returned.
Again and again.
The civilians were powerless to stop them.
Thus, countless people suffered.
And as these Devil Fruit users grew stronger through plunder and violence, the suffering only deepened.
The stronger they became, the more miserable ordinary people became.
Therefore, if one truly wished to change this world—
It wasn't enough to overthrow the World Government.
It wasn't enough to drag the Celestial Dragons down from their pedestal.
The real solution would be eliminating Devil Fruits themselves.
If Devil Fruits disappeared...
If superhuman abilities stopped appearing endlessly...
The world's chaos would naturally begin to diminish.
Unfortunately, that was virtually impossible.
And that was why Arashi had told Perona:
"Even if we kill every pirate in this city, it won't change what happened here."
Because after these pirates died, new pirates would emerge.
Kill one Devil Fruit user, and another would appear.
As they walked, the three eventually arrived in a residential district.
Unlike other areas, this neighborhood hadn't been consumed by flames.
Yet it had still been thoroughly looted by pirates.
Corpses littered the alleys.
Old men.
Children.
Even infants who had yet to learn how to walk.
"Arashi..."
Perona suddenly stopped and grabbed his hand.
Looking at the horrifying scene before her, she spoke quietly.
"I want to go back to the ship."
"Can I?"
Before Arashi could answer, a middle-aged man dressed in rough homespun clothing appeared in the alley ahead.
After emerging from around a corner, the man glanced at Arashi's group before silently walking toward the bodies of two elderly people.
Then he bent down, lifted both corpses onto his shoulders, and turned back the way he'd come.
The sight caused all three of them to pause.
Then they quietly followed.
When they rounded the corner behind the man, their field of vision suddenly opened up.
Ahead lay a wide grassy field.
At the center of the field was a massive pit.
The man carrying the bodies climbed down into it.
Moments later, he emerged and walked right past Arashi's group without a word.
Then he returned toward the alley to retrieve more corpses.
None of the three disturbed him.
They simply stood at the edge of the field.
Neither dared take another step forward.
There was no need to approach the pit.
The purpose of it was obvious.
The man had dug it himself.
He was collecting the bodies of innocent civilians and giving them a proper burial.
Thus, Arashi, Robin, and Perona stood silently at the edge of the field.
The man ignored them completely and continued his work tirelessly.
Over and over.
Again and again.
An hour passed.
Finally, the man completed his task.
After placing the last infant into the pit, he could no longer hold himself together.
Sitting beside the grave, he broke down and wept uncontrollably.
Watching the man sob, Arashi slowly walked over and sat down beside him.
Although he had prepared himself mentally, his pupils still contracted slightly when he looked into the pit.
Because the mound wasn't filled only with innocent civilians.
There were also dozens of pirate corpses inside.
Clearly—
This middle-aged man had killed them himself.
The moment Arashi sat down, the man suddenly stopped crying.
Turning toward Arashi, he said:
"If one could be blind and never see the world, perhaps that would be a blessing."
"Because there are simply too many filthy and evil things in this world that should never be seen."
"Hm?"
Hearing those familiar words, Arashi froze.
Then his eyes widened.
A realization struck him instantly.
This guy is...
Just as shock flashed through Arashi's mind, the middle-aged man suddenly drew a short blade from his waist.
Without the slightest hesitation—
He thrust it directly toward his own eyes.
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