The next morning, Rorschach, who was suffering from a severe headache from drinking with Kuzan the night before, was awakened by the sound of soldiers knocking on the door.
When he opened the door, rubbing his heavy head, he received shocking news.
Ilya Prince, who had been captured and temporarily held in the Branch 177 prison, had committed suicide.
When Rorschach heard about Ilya's suicide, he almost smiled, unable to hide his happiness.
Wasn't this good news.
Had he not been seriously injured that day, he wouldn't have guaranteed that he wouldn't have killed Ilya on the spot in the prince's palace.
For a cunning and boundless criminal like Ilya, Rorschach really didn't want him to be sent to "Impel Down" prison.
Someone like "Ilya" could be more dangerous than some pirates with bounties exceeding billions.
According to what Kuzan said, Ilya was supposed to enter Impel Down and could be punished for the crime of genocide, being imprisoned in the Infinite Hell.
That's the sixth level of the prison.
Because he had committed crimes similar to those of the evil pirate Pizarro.
Someone like Ilya, if he went to Impel Down and took the opportunity to reflect and improve himself, could one day emerge to turn the world upside down.
Just as happened in the manga when Luffy and Blackbeard released the big pirates.
But since Rorschach knew in advance that this disaster might occur in the future.
He would do his best to prevent it.
When Rorschach arrived at the prison with the soldiers, his expression returned to seriousness.
The reason was that Ilya had not succeeded in committing suicide.
"Really, I rejoiced for nothing."
Rorschach muttered sarcastically.
At that moment, Kuzan arrived with "Gru" from a distance, and he heard Rorschach's complaint, so he looked at Gru next to him.
Gru's eyes were covered by his curly hair, making it impossible to read his expression.
When Kuzan approached, Rorschach greeted him, "Good morning, Uncle Kuzan."
Kuzan smiled wryly when he heard the greeting. It was the first time someone called him "Uncle."
As one of the strongest forces in the Navy, wherever he went, he was met with looks of respect and fear.
In the Navy, very few people spoke to him in such a friendly manner.
But Kuzan liked this title.
However, his face was serious at that moment.
"Rorschach, I need to ask you something."
Rorschach was surprised: "Ask me? Uncle Kuzan, if you have any requests, just order me, you are an admiral!"
Kuzan shook his head: "It's not about military matters."
He got straight to the point and pointed to the entrance of the prison: "You may not know, but Ilya has been asking to see you for several days. During the seven days you spent chasing pirates at sea, he requested to see you every day."
"I have nothing to say to him."
Rorschach's expression turned cold.
He didn't know why Ilya was so insistent on seeing him.
But he didn't want to see Ilya's face again.
He just wanted to smash that face against the wall.
Kuzan expected Rorschach's reaction.
He sighed and said: "That's why I'm asking you to grant his request and see what he wants."
Before Rorschach could ask why Kuzan explained.
It turned out that Ilya had accumulated a vast fortune of money and resources over the years, along with a huge sum of "heavenly gold" that was supposed to be delivered this year, but it had not yet been found.
It was estimated that this heavenly gold amounted to 16 billion Berries!
This vast sum of money was intended to establish a Pirate Nation by "Ilya."
This amount of money was considered a massive fortune anywhere in the world.
For the record, even the Sea Emperors in the New World had bounties only reaching four or five billion Berries.
The heavenly gold that "Ilya" had gathered could buy several heads of the Sea Emperors.
If they could be bought, of course.
Because of this vast sum of money, the government ship that came from "Mariejois" had not left the port of "Qian Rock Town."
As for the Navy in Branch 177, they were searching for this fortune not because they wanted to steal it.
But because the Kingdom of "Prince" now desperately needed money for disaster relief.
Destroyed homes and families needed rebuilding.
Thousands of people needed food daily.
Compensation also had to be paid to neighboring countries.
All of this required a lot of money.
Of course, the North Navy also needed a portion of the money to help refugees in the future.
"Ilya said that after meeting you, he would tell you the location of that money." Kuzan scratched his head with some embarrassment as he looked at Rorschach, "So, please, this is very important."
"Fine, I'll go see what he wants."
Rorschach entered the underground prison in Branch 177 alone.
The underground environment was a bit dim, but overall, the cells were clean and not as foul-smelling as Rorschach had expected.
Perhaps because this place did not hold pirates often.
Because the pirates in the North Sea were usually villains, their fate was either death or imprisonment on "Baia Island."
After passing through the short descending staircase, Rorschach reached the deepest cell, where he saw Ilya's gentle and handsome face again.
"You've come."
When Ilya saw Rorschach, he showed a warm smile, despite his pale face and the new bandages on his body.
There was no trace of hostility or anger.
"What do you want to say?"
Rorschach sat on the ground, not caring about the cleanliness of the floor.
The two looked at each other through the bars.
"I just want to talk a bit before I leave this boring world."
Ilya looked past Rorschach as if he was staring at something far away.
"Aren't you afraid of death? You are an arrogant noble who doesn't care about the lives of others."
Rorschach looked at Ilya coldly.
This person inside was a monster wearing a human mask, and his death would only bring good to the world.
When Ilya saw the coldness in Rorschach's eyes, he smiled a little: "I've found the answer I was looking for. Life and death no longer matter to me. Maybe you can consider it your ultimate dream that you've been striving to achieve. And when it's achieved, your life becomes complete, whether you live or die afterward, it doesn't matter."
Rorschach couldn't understand this.
"Is this empty question really so important to you? Important enough to sacrifice your entire country to seek an answer? Do you know how many people you've killed?"
Ilya's smile faded, he took a deep breath, and a hint of recollection appeared on his darkened face.
"To me, it was very important. In fact, not just for me, but for you and the whole world."
"Didn't you discover that the Revolutionary Army visited the Prince Kingdom?"
"In fact... I was one of the members of the Revolutionary Army."
(End of Chapter)
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