The Inner Sea Below the Cliff
"The seawater has frozen! This… is Admiral Aokiji's power! Amazing! The Admiral has arrived! Hurry and break the ice surface, lift Gross up—he needs immediate treatment!"
On the ice surface, officers broke through the layer of ice and climbed out of the freezing water.
Near the palace, Hawkins clutched his chest as he walked on the ice, heading towards them.
In the long street, Kuzan cast a cold glance at Elia, who had appeared in the square, then stepped toward Rorschach and the others.
"Are you alright?"
Kuzan knelt down and looked at the three young men who were much younger than him.
The injuries on their bodies were terrifying.
Drake's head was split open, with frozen blood mixed with dust, staining his body in red and black.
Law's arm was broken, but he was still breathing. He and Drake were wrapping Rorschach's many wounds with torn pieces of cloth.
At that moment, Rorschach's life was fading dangerously, his body leaning against gray ruins, his eyes close to collapsing.
"Get some ice to stimulate his nerves, don't let him go into shock."
Law turned towards Kuzan and said.
"Ah."
Quickly, Kuzan extended his right hand, and a palm-sized ice block rose from his palm, which he handed over.
Law didn't lift his head and continued speaking, "Where is your naval support? What are you waiting for? Call the doctors quickly; they need immediate treatment."
Kuzan nodded his head, "Sorry, I didn't think of that. I'll contact HQ now—they're waiting outside the Principality of Prince. I'll notify them immediately."
After saying this, he quickly took out a Transponder Snail.
"Buru Buru…"
The phone rang only twice before it was answered on the other end.
"Is this Jennifer? Send a team to the island immediately to start disaster relief in the Royal City of Prince. Additionally, Drake and the others are seriously injured and need immediate medical attention. Send a team now."
At this time, large straw ropes appeared on the edge of the cliff leading to the royal city, from which dozens of naval officers climbed up.
Seeing those present, the officers hurried towards them with Gross.
Elsewhere, the three Beppo woke up from the ice beneath them, ran to the house they had been hiding in, and brought out the unconscious Akajaku.
When they saw Law with a broken arm, their eyes immediately filled with tears.
When Kuzan saw the injured and burned Kōjaku, his face grew darker.
Kuzan ordered several officers to go to the royal city to check the situation and bring doctors from Branch 177.
He then stood up and walked towards Doflamingo and Elia, who were preparing to fight again.
As Kuzan approached, the air temperature dropped rapidly, as if they were in the Arctic.
Doflamingo lowered his raised hand and looked at the approaching Kuzan.
Kuzan did not turn to him but focused his gaze on Elia.
"You are Elia, the culprit behind the coup in the Principality of Prince, correct?"
Elia wiped away the blood flowing from Doflamingo's attack and looked at Kuzan with a smile.
"Yes, I am, and I am honored to meet Admiral Aokiji."
"Why did you do this?" Kuzan asked with an expressionless face, without a hint of a smile.
"Because I was searching for the answer!"
"What rules this world?"
Elia's gloomy face bore a resemblance to Hawkins, with expressions of madness similar to before.
He pointed to his unconscious brother Gross on the ground, "Look, Gross is a representative of royal blood. My father was ready to hand over the throne to him, even though he is inferior to me in every way. Just because he has legitimate royal blood, he can inherit the kingdom without paying any price."
Then Elia pointed to Doflamingo, who looked grim.
"The powerful Shichibukai represent strength, and their involvement complicated the succession to the throne."
"You marines also represent legitimacy, coming in the name of justice to protect the peace of this kingdom and expel the pirates."
"Is the unchanging fate of thousands of years that justice will always triumph over evil?"
"And I, alone, represent wisdom."
Elia pointed to himself, "At the age of fifteen, I was able to manage the affairs of the Northern Sea States. I ignited wars between neighboring countries over simple reasons, causing the Principality of Prince to benefit and achieve endless wealth. And when I promised the pirates some simple gains, they came from all over the Northern Sea, like sharks smelling blood, to carry out my orders."
"I exchanged the stolen food with a Zoan-type Devil Fruit from the Revolutionary Army."
"Then I lured the Donquixote Family into the game using the Zoan-type Fruit."
"Now, in this small Principality of Prince, the factors of royal blood, fate, power, and wisdom, the four things I believe most influence the rule of this world, have converged. But..."
Elia smiled and pointed to the expressionless Kuzan.
"Only now have I realized that wisdom is the least important of these factors."
"Royal blood holds no value without power."
"Fate ultimately prevails, but it was based on power. If you, the highest authority of the Navy, hadn't intervened, the final answer to this play would have been power!"
"So, is the final answer to this question a combination of fate and power? Is that the most important factor in ruling this world? Hahaha."
Elia laughed loudly and said, "Do you now see the essence of this world? Hahaha!"
Doflamingo looked at him coldly, as if he were looking at a dead man.
"Rorschach!"
Behind Kuzan, suddenly, Drake shouted.
When Kuzan turned around, he saw the blood-covered Rorschach slowly stepping forward, barely holding himself up.
His blue eyes were fixed on Elia, who was laughing maniacally.
"So, for the sake of this trivial question and answer, you buried your kingdom with your own hands, caused the deaths of thousands of civilians, and bathed the neighboring countries in blood?"
"How can it be trivial? It's of utmost importance! I used the souls of a few thousand to discover the essence of the world. Isn't that something great?"
Elia spread his arms, his smile growing brighter.
Rorschach's face twitched, and his mouth lifted as he felt a surge of overwhelming anger fill his chest.
He pointed to Drake, whose head was split open, then to Law with his broken arm, and then to the unconscious Kōjaku and Gross.
"I'll tell you what rules this world!"
"What rules this world is not royal blood, not wisdom, not power, nor damn fate!"
"It is the basic conscience and innate goodness that humans possess!"
"It is the courage that humans are born with—the courage to challenge the unknown, the courage to shatter tyranny, the courage to face life and death!"
"The greatness of humanity lies in the greatness of courage, and the song of humanity is the song of courage!"
"It is the presence of conscience and goodness, carrying courage and faith to move forward, that can change this world torn apart by flaws!"
Rorschach looked at Elia, whose smile was gradually fading, and looked at Doflamingo, whose face was grim.
"Such things, you who see human life as nothing, will never understand."
After speaking, it was as if he had exhausted the last ounce of his strength, his body swayed, and he fell.
Kuzan extended his hand to catch his falling body, his pupils trembling.
"Can this world filled with wounds be changed by retaining goodwill and conscience, with courage and unwavering faith?"
Kuzan suddenly felt warmth in his heart.
"This is what the Navy should be; this is what justice should be!"
Doflamingo's face remained frozen for a long time, then he gradually began to smile manically.
"Fuffuffuffuffu, are humans born with conscience and goodwill? How arrogant! Boy! How much real darkness and cruelty have you experienced in your life? Go to the sea, see this world full of wounds, and see if you can change it with your naive faith! Fuffuffuffuffu!"
He leaped into the sky, taking Trebol and the rest of his crew with him as they flew away.
Not far away, Drake, Hawkins, Law, Beppo, and the officers silently watched the silver-haired boy in the square, their emotions wavering uncontrollably.
Boom! Boom!
Outside the shores of Prince Castle, naval soldiers from various branches in the North Sea manned their warships one after another, attacking dozens of large and small pirate crews gathered in the Principality of Prince.
The roar of the cannons on the sea surface played the final concluding melody.
(End of Chapter)
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