OPRS: Chapter 5

From the initial revelation of information about the World Government, to the disdain for the Yonko, to the final critique of the World Government's system, it all ultimately led to the final point: the problem of the system.

Though he had developed an aversion to system-related issues from his time on Weibo in his previous world, in reality, those who turned right and wrong upside down were right in some ways. Some problems were indeed systemic, but it was hard to say which country's system was the problem.

And now, the World Government was the biggest systemic institution in this world, and the biggest problem.

Having read the manga, he knew that the World Government was able to maintain its system entirely because of a monster who had lived for hundreds, even thousands, of years, [Im]. This monster ensured the continuity and sustainability of policy. With the Five Elders, the World Government, the Marines, and other pillars of support, the World Government had ruled the world for so many years, artificially disguising the existence of a certain mechanism.

It wasn't actually like that. Everyone thought the Celestial Dragons possessed weapons that could destroy the world, which is why the Marines were so respectful and tolerant of them. But the actual reason was very simple: the Celestial Dragons' ancestor, [Imu], was still alive. The Celestial Dragons, with the biggest backer supporting them, had been pampered into pigs over hundreds of years, yet nothing happened to them.

Sometimes the world is so cruel and straightforward.

But he couldn't tell the Empress this secret directly. It wasn't that she wasn't trustworthy, but that this secret was perhaps the biggest problem in the world of One Piece. Revealing this secret to her before she joined him could harm her.

So... he had to attribute the World Government's success to the system:

"What does the World Government control? The power of the righteous path! They possess the Red Line, they control the most stable routes and the four seas' routes, they control the vast majority of the countries in the world, they possess most of the world's information, their system is incredibly strong, constantly nurturing loyal strongmen from those who want to drive out pirates, their system is flawed, but it is powerful."

He carefully explained the Marines' advantages to the Empress and Gloriosa: "First of all, the vast majority of people in the world are on the side of the Marines, on the side of the World Government. Though the government exploits them more, humans are easily compromising creatures. It was like me in the beginning. The Celestial Dragons gave me some good food, and I was grateful. Then they gave me a little freedom, and I started to have fantasies. Finally, they entrusted me with their business, and I started to inflate.

"Most ordinary people are the same. If the country initially levies very high taxes, but as long as there's a little slack, they'll be grateful to the country and forget about the high taxes. But on the other hand, these are their internal contradictions. No matter how harsh their internal contradictions are, they will ultimately unite against pirates from outside. In other words, if pirates don't come, they have internal contradictions, but if pirates come, they will unite against the outside. Do you understand this difference between internal and external fronts?"

A flicker of confusion crossed the Empress's beautiful face. She seemed to understand something, but she didn't seem to understand everything.

Gloriosa, the former, former, former Empress of Amazon Lily, showed a thoughtful expression on her face.

"Pirates, kings (governments), and civilians. This creates a situation where pirates eat kings, kings eat civilians, and civilians are eaten by both sides, but they will unite against pirates. This way, the arrival of pirates actually eases the tension between them, turning them into a third party that interferes, even giving the Marines a reason to enter their country and interfere in their internal affairs."

"So, do you think pirates are good or bad for the World Government?"

Alistair was just a petit bourgeois, someone who only had a superficial understanding of theoretical knowledge. But luckily, he had taken compulsory courses in college.

So, he started off speaking hesitantly, not quite able to express his thoughts well. But as he spoke, he became more fluent, gradually expressing his meaning.

"So, you want to know if I respect pirates? My answer is definitely no. Pirates are just tools. Even if they become Pirate King, even if they bring the Yonko under their command, their power, combat strength, and potential cannot compete with the World Government, which represents the will of the people."

"Pirates are the desperate path taken by people who have been oppressed and pushed to their limits by the World Government. But they haven't figured out who their real enemy is. Instead, they've gone to sea and are no longer bound by the law, becoming the very people they hate. Then, they become the World Government's knives, targeting their own country, their own people."

"Ultimately, not all pirates come to the Grand Line. They don't all have such grand ambitions. After escaping the oppression of their original kingdom, they go to other villages, cities, and kingdoms to plunder, becoming exploiters, and then they are killed by the Marines."

"It's precisely because there is no mechanism to restrain ordinary kingdoms (from now on, I'll use the term 'kingdom' instead of 'government') that this problem exists."

"This should be something the World Government should do, but they collect outrageous Heavenly Tribute every year and only recognize the legitimacy of the royal family's rule in the kingdom. They don't interfere in the internal affairs of each country. It seems like a beautiful thing, but they're just exploiting and then shifting the responsibility to the royal families of each country, then reaping the benefits."

"Is this normal? Is this right?" He spoke slowly, breaking down the hypocrisy of the World Government and feeding it to the Empress. This was the world he had observed with a cold eye, the core mechanism of the world's operation, and the cruel world that ordinary people couldn't see. Most people only see what's in front of them, the past, the present, the future, but they don't see what's right in front of them but doesn't exist."

"The only way to change this is to stand directly opposite the World Government, to defeat the World Government in a fair and honorable way, and only then can all ordinary people be liberated."

"So, come with me, Empress." He looked calmly at the Empress, who was leaning against the serpent with no intention of getting up, and asked gently.

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