Objectives

Frantz's confession caused the room to go silent for nearly a minute. 

"Wait, did anybody else know this or I'm not the only one who didn't know this time?" 

Jessie spoke with a confused face. He looked at everybody else and they all looked lost like him. 

"I didn't know..." 

"Me neither." 

Caria and Luka answered him with low voices. 

"This got to be some joke. You're telling me this idiot is a Spy?" 

Astrid pointed at Frantz. 

"He doesn't have the brains to!" 

"......" 

Frantz didn't say anything and just looked at Astrid. He stood up and walked up to Frantz. 

"Come on, say something. Say this is a joke!" 

"This isn't a joke, Astrid. I'm a Revolutionary." 

"I'm telling you stop joking!" 

Astrid pushed him. 

"I'm not." 

"You!!" 

"Astrid, calm down." 

Tate spoke up. 

"You're telling me to calm down? This guy is a goddamn spy!" 

"Astrid, don't make me repeat myself." 

Tate's eyes narrowed and a heavy pressure fell on Astrid's body. 

"I refuse!" 

Astrid's outburst made Tate's eyes widen in shock. Astrid didn't even look at him and kept his eyes on Frantz. 

"If you're a spy then what about the 10 years you spent here? Was the last decade here a facade? You even became one of the Supreme Five. Was that all for your mission?" 

"My life here is genuine. Other than my origins, I never lied to anyone. The me you know is the real me." 

"No." 

Astrid poked his chest. 

"The 'real you' is a revolutionary, an enemy of the world government." 

"But I'm an ally of Bounty Island." 

"Is that really the case though?" 

Luka spoke up. 

"I hate Pirates, but I don't particularly like Revolutionaries either. They often use the chaos pirates cause and the Marines' incapability to stop them to brand themselves as the good guys. A lot of them aren't better than pirates." 

"But you can also say that for the World Government too. They proudly partner with pirates for their own agendas." 

"You don't get it, Frantz. I don't like Pirates, Revolutionaries, or Marines. I only like the people of this island, you included. However, now I can't say for certain the you I liked was the true you." 

"I assure you, Luka. I'm still the handsome Frantz you know." 

"This isn't time for jokes, Frantz." 

Caria spoke up. 

"I was willing to overlook some stuff surrounding you and the mayor because I trusted you two and I was certain you wouldn't do something to put us at risk..." 

She looked over at Tate. 

"Now I don't have the same faith in you anymore." 

Tate frowned. A clap drew everyone's attention to Jessie. 

"Everybody calm down for a bit." 

He wore a serious expression. 

"I don't understand what's going on and I'm sure it's the same for the rest of you. So, I need these two to explain it for us." 

He turned to Astrid. 

"Give him space and freedom to speak freely." 

Astrid continued to glare at Frantz in defiance. Jessie saw this and sighed. His eyes narrowed and the atmosphere around him changed. 

"Astrid Magnolia, I, Jessie Lockhart, order you to stand down. If you fail to obey my order..." 

Jessie's eyes darkened until only black could be seen. 

"I will break all your limbs and your spine." 

His voice was void of emotion and was almost robotic. 

"...Fine." 

Astrid stepped back and returned to his seat. Jessie turned to Tate and Frantz. 

"The floor is yours. Make every second count." 

Jessie sat back in his seat with his legs crossed. 

(Such pressure.) 

Tate smiled. 

(That's why he was made the leader. He's carefree and childish most of the time, but when it matters he can be a real menace.) 

Tate looked at Frantz and Frantz nodded. 

"Like I said before, I came here with the mission of persuading Bounty Island to betray the World Government." 

"Why?" 

Jessie still spoke with a detached voice. 

"Despite being a hidden island no one knows about, this island serves as a vital point in the World Government controlling piracy." 

Frantz showed three fingers. 

"The Marines, the Warlords, and the Emperors; these are the Three Powers that control the balance of the world. However, there are smaller powers out there that can affect the world on the same level under the right conditions." 

He pointed at himself. 

"The Revolutionary Army." 

He then pointed at them. 

"And the Bounty Hunters." 

"So, your mission is to help merge these two lesser powers together?" 

Frantz nodded at Caria's question. 

"Unlike the Revolutionary Army, Bounty Hunters are subordinates of one of the Three Powers, the World Government. Because of this, people tend to overlook how crucial to the world they are. It's because the World Government recognizes their potential why they work with them." 

Frantz looked at all of them. 

"I don't need to go over why we're useful to the Marines right?" 

"We make their jobs easier by going after pirates so they don't have to waste resources, thus allowing them to focus on greater threats." 

Frantz nodded at Luka's answer. 

"Bounty Hunters can't exist without the World Government, so they're seen as tools by marines. They don't fear them despite Bounty Hunters being trained fighters and assassins. The reason is, they aren't united, so they can't pose a threat, normally. This island is exception. Everyone here is trained in combat and can act as soldiers making this place an irreplaceable war asset. That's why the government made sure they have strong ties with here and treat the island like a secret organization." 

"Meaning?" 

Jessie asked. 

"In simpler terms, the Marines need this place to help regulate the pirate world and to use as a reserve army in case of a world war. My boss wants to steal this card (Bounty Island) from the government..." 

Frantz shook his head. 

"He wants to use this card against them." 

Frantz grinned. 

"The time will soon come when the Revolutionary Army will clash with the World Government causing a great war. What do you think will happen if Bounty Island betrays them during this, by using their trust to get close to them and strike where they're the most vulnerable?" 

"It will create an opening for the Revolutionary Army to strike a decisive blow..." 

Caria mumbled with astonishment on her face. 

"It could work because people like the Mayor and the Sheriff can enter Marine Headquarters and meet with even the Fleet Admiral. If you get them on your side then..." 

She looked at Tate. 

"I understand why Frantz was sent here, but why did you agree to this?" 

"Because it's what's best for this island's future." 

"What do you mean?" 

Tate didn't answer for a bit before he started talking. 

"Aren't you guys fed up of funerals?" 

Everyone looked at each other in confusion. Tate continued. 

"We are Bounty Hunters. We risk our lives every day to hunt pirates for the government. However, we don't do this because we want to, we do it because we have to." 

"The quota." 

Tate nodded in response to Luka. 

"We must collect a certain number of bounties every month in order to receive funds and resources from the World Government. It's because of this that we leave the island to hunt. It's also why everybody must be a bounty hunter, in order to meet the quota." 

Tate clenched his fists. 

"We don't have a choice but to risk our lives. We are forced to kill anyone who might potentially know about the island. We have no dreams of our own. Our entire existence revolves around bounty hunting." 

His body started to tremble as it tensed up. 

"We're no better than the slaves in Mariejois!" 

His shout made everyone tense up. 

"I ask if you're not fed up with funerals because I am. I am fed up with burying my drinking buddies. I'm fed up with burying kids I watched growing up. I'm fed up with burying my people!" 

His eyes reddened as they became bloodshot. 

"I'm fed up with seeing more and more kids go to the orphanage! I'm fed up with hearing wives wailing when only their husbands' guns return! I'm fed up with seeing parents burying their children and giving up on life! I'm fed up of it all!" 

His entire body shook vigorously as he spoke. The veins in his body bulged as his anger overflowed. 

"I took Frantz's offer to join the Revolutionary Army because of one thing. My desire to destroy the World Government!" 

"?!" 

Shock spread through the room. 

"We cannot be freed from marching to our deaths until the World Government is destroyed! They will not free us because they know our value, so they would rather destroy us! So we're gonna destroy them first! That is my reason!" 

A heavy silence covered the room. Tate's words pounded in their heads over and over again. The more they thought about it the more sense it made. 

"I see, I understand now." 

Jessie was the one who broke the silence. 

"Alright, I trust your decision." 

He looked at Frantz. 

"I also trust my friend." 

Frantz and Tate started smiling. 

"I believe we're playing a dangerous game, but I trust you as well." 

Caria said. 

"I'm down. As an orphan, I know how rough it is for those left behind." 

Luka frowned. 

"Also, I'm tired of seeing kids cry." 

"What about you, Astrid?" 

Jessie asked Astrid who wore a frown on his face. 

"I still feel betrayed by the whole Frantz thing, however, I agree with the things Tate said. With me being a Fishman, I know the World Government can't be trusted." 

Astrid nodded. 

"I'm also in." 

"Great, with this we have the Supreme Five's approval. It will be easier to convince the rest of the island like this." 

"I would hold off on that, Mayor." 

Luka spoke up. 

"Thanks to the attack, the citizens will feel we need to rely on the government more than ever. Especially with there being a possibility the island's location was leaked. It will be impossible to convince them to go against the government now." 

"I know. That's why I'll wait and let them be at ease before I talk to them." 

"That makes sense....Wait, the Sheriff knew about this right?" 

Tate nodded. 

"Is he onboard?" 

Tate and Frantz looked at each other before shaking their heads." 

"No, he isn't. Felix doesn't want to go against the government." 

"Wait, then is the Sheriff an enemy?" 

Jessie looked a bit excited. 

"No, at least he said he won't get involved at all." 

"So, he's being neutral? That's better than him being an enemy." 

Caria's body shivered. 

"I really don't want to fight that man." 

"What are you saying?! I've been dying for an opportunity to fight him seriously!" 

Caria hit Jessie on the head. 

"If you want to die, don't bring the rest of us with you." 

Tate let out a dry laugh watching them. 

(What's your move, Felix?) 

Felix, at the same time, was sitting in his office reading a newspaper. 

"Please leave me out of your suicide mission, Tate." 

He flipped a page and landed on the comics. 

"Oh, Sora is fighting Germa 66 again. I wonder if he can beat Stealth Black this time." 

He immersed himself in the comics without care.