CHAPTER 270: ALLIANCE!
Brett shrank his form, transforming into a dragon-man with fierce horns, entering the bubble. He sat upon the fragmented Sabaody coastline carried down by flame clouds into the abyss.
"Now, let's have a proper conversation," Brett smiled.
Zephyr stood with arms crossed, expression impassive. Yet his students' faces betrayed barely-contained anticipation. What kind of past did this man called Emperor possess? They couldn't help but wonder.
Besides, this man had already saved them twice. Their curiosity was natural.
"My origins are hardly secret anymore, I think?" Brett smiled. "I'm a human-fish-man hybrid, abandoned in Fishman Street as a child. Thanks to several older brothers' care, I survived and grew."
"Fisher Tiger?" Zephyr asked.
"Correct," Brett smiled. "Tiger was my lifetime idol. When he returned to Fish-Man Island and formed the Sun Pirates, I joined immediately."
He turned toward Zephyr. "You understand what happened afterward, I'm sure."
Zephyr remained silent. Of course he understood. The Sun Pirates were mandated for swift elimination by the World Government. Most members were slaves Fisher Tiger rescued from Mariejois, freed from Celestial Dragon ownership.
"I asked you once before, Zephyr—did we do wrong?" Brett continued. "I ask again now: do you think we erred?"
"Tiger never harmed anyone. He freed enslaved peoples oppressed by Celestial Dragons, regardless of race. The Sun Pirates harmed no one during our voyages. Even facing Marine or pirate challengers, we showed restraint."
Brett fell into memory, recalling those years sailing the seas.
"Tiger said the Sun Pirates were a crew fighting for liberation."
Zephyr's students listened with rapt curiosity. Did such pirates exist? Such ideals?
The Sun Pirates were ancient history—new recruits knew little about them.
Zephyr compressed his lips, sighing internally. As former Navy upper leadership, he knew Sun Pirates intelligence thoroughly.
Brett spoke truth. During those three years, the Sun Pirates committed no atrocities. Conversely, they performed numerous righteous deeds. Even their destruction came from attempting to return a former Celestial Dragon slave girl to her homeland.
Zephyr understood this clearly. Knowing these facts, he couldn't respond to Brett's questions.
Brett continued without pause. "Then came my capture at the Navy experimental base due to my bloodline's peculiarities."
He calmly explained his time there—his attempted escape, the chaos he caused, consuming the supposedly failed fruit, meeting Vegapunk. He emphasized his conflicts with that vice admiral, revealing everything except his deal with Vegapunk.
"So tell me—did I truly err?" Brett asked.
Zephyr's former students exchanged uncertain glances, unsure how to respond. As Navy personnel, they could righteously condemn Brett as a criminal murderer.
But now, having betrayed—or been betrayed by—the Navy, what authority had they to speak?
They'd confirmed: the Navy and government don't represent true justice. Therefore, enemies of the Navy aren't necessarily evil.
Reconsidering Brett's actions through this lens yielded different conclusions. Fisher Tiger, who liberated slaves, deserved "hero" more than "criminal." Therefore, Brett was innocent. Why shouldn't he resist persecution?
Zephyr found himself without words. Even he struggled against acknowledging Brett's actions as self-defense born from coercion.
"Then came my return to Fish-Man Island," Brett smiled. "Surely you're familiar with that."
"I simply wanted my homeland to prosper. But the government pursued me again due to past events."
"Gradually, I realized something," Brett said seriously. "What corrupted this world wasn't pirates—it was the World Government."
"They're the source of this world's greatest injustice."
"The government preaching freedom and equality was never free, never equal—correct, Zephyr?" Brett continued. "Celestial Dragons exploit the entire world through government authority. Nations seeking Navy protection pay astronomical Celestial Tribute annually, even if it impoverishes them."
"Celestial Dragons possess supreme authority. Anyone offending them faces merciless Navy extermination."
"They are this world's gods."
"But gods don't love their people. Countless perish due to their existence, forced to seek the seas for survival."
Most sea-faring pirates weren't idealistic dreamers. The vast majority sought wealth, livelihood—nothing more.
Who created poverty? Who denied survival?
"Ending the Great Pirate Age is simple," Brett raised two fingers. "First, find the legendary great treasure, ending pirates' treasure-seeking dreams. Second, overthrow the World Government, establishing a truly just world order where people needn't wander the seas for survival."
Zephyr stiffened.
"What do you think, Zephyr?"
"..." Zephyr fell silent momentarily. "Brett, I never imagined you harbored such world-spanning vision."
"Don't misunderstand," Brett waved dismissively. "From beginning to end, I simply want my homeland—Fish-Man Island—and my people to live openly under sunlight."
"Therefore, I need a truly just world order."
"Join me, Zephyr," Brett spoke seriously. "Overthrowing the World Government requires uniting all possible forces. You needn't commit deeply—simply stand alongside us against the government."
Zephyr exhaled slowly.
"Sounds... genuinely difficult to refuse."
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