This was Finn's first time in the New World. Honestly, he'd never thought he'd arrive here so soon.
After all, with his current strength, he might be able to survive in the first half of the Grand Line. But in a paradise for the strong like the New World, he was undoubtedly just a small fish.
The Marines' warships were extremely fast. The fleet led by Admiral Sengoku didn't need coating to cross Fish-Man Island like ordinary ship.
Along the way, they traveled directly from Marineford to the Holy Land of Mary Geoise. They changed ships at Mary Geoise, boarded another warship from the New World port, and quickly entered the interior of the New World proper.
On the warship's deck, Borsalino was chatting with Finn.
Finn and Borsalino hadn't been very familiar before. If possible, he would have preferred hanging out with Kuzan.
Unfortunately, Rear Admiral Kuzan and Vice Admiral Garp were both on Chief of Staff Tsuru's ship. Admiral Sengoku led the ship carrying Borsalino and Sakazuki.
Sakazuki hadn't emerged from his cabin since entering the New World.
Moreover, when they'd met before, he'd worn an expression that screamed "stay away from me." He was a user of the scorching Magma-Magma Fruit, yet the aura surrounding him felt even colder than Kuzan's.
However, Finn harbored no resentment toward Sakazuki because of his indifference and neglect. After all, if he were Sakazuki, he probably wouldn't have much to say to a small-time Lieutenant Commander like himself either.
"So our Marines' control over the New World is very weak. But if that's the case, why haven't the member nations of the New World seceded from the World Government?" Finn asked curiously.
That's right. He was discussing the New World with Borsalino.
Though he hadn't been very familiar with Borsalino initially, after getting to know him over the past few days, Finn discovered Borsalino was quite approachable. He wasn't arrogant about his strength. He spoke with dry humor and was sometimes even more interesting than Kuzan.
As for Finn, he was the type who adapted his conversation to his audience. Combined with some knowledge and perspectives from his previous life, what he discussed appealed greatly to Borsalino's tastes.
Originally, Borsalino had only shown interest in Finn because of Admiral Sengoku's patronage.
But now, he genuinely enjoyed talking with Finn.
The justice in Borsalino's mind was ambiguous. It could even be said that no one could guess what he truly thought or how he defined the word justice.
As for Finn, he'd never found his own justice either. If you insisted on categorizing it, his stance was also ambiguous.
Therefore, unlike with Kuzan, he and Borsalino had no ideological conflicts.
Finn frankly stated he hoped for greater strength, higher status, and more power. Borsalino didn't think there was anything wrong with that.
"Because they have no choice," Borsalino said calmly.
After a brief pause, Borsalino continued, "Of course, in reality, many of the New World's member nations have, to a certain extent, accepted protection from great pirates. The World Government has turned a blind eye to this, and our Marines are currently too busy to intervene. But ultimately, Finn, you need to understand something... The New World's member nations will never be able to form the same kind of alliance with pirates that they have with the World Government."
"Because of the positions of justice and evil?" Finn asked with a frown.
Borsalino smiled. His expression didn't indicate anything profound, but somehow his smile looked sleazy.
After laughing, Borsalino shook his head. "Finn, issues like justice and evil aren't so easily distinguished. At the same time, many things in this world ultimately aren't defined by justice and evil at all..."
Finn nodded. He naturally understood this principle. He wasn't a fool who simply divided the world into black and white.
"Well, what I'm about to say next is just my personal thoughts... treat them as casual musings," Borsalino said after a moment's thought.
He hadn't figured out many things yet himself. That's why he hadn't joined the neutral camp.
"In my opinion, justice and evil aren't the essence. They're just superficial appearances covering up positions. If I really had to make a distinction, I'd rather define it as 'chaos' and 'order.' As I said before, the member nations of the New World will never be able to completely unite with pirates. Fundamentally, the reason is that the member nations, in essence, represent order. Pirates embody chaos. Therefore, no matter how much our Marines' power and the World Government's control have declined in the New World, the member nations here will never become completely dependent on pirates. On the contrary, they need a strong force of order as their backing. We happen to be that kind of order..." Borsalino said thoughtfully.
While explaining all this to Finn, he was also processing what he'd said himself.
Finn looked at Borsalino with surprise. He hadn't expected him to articulate such a perspective.
However, he also felt he understood Borsalino's future position better now.
Ambiguous justice. Would Borsalino have justice in the future?
Undoubtedly yes. But he didn't attach excessive importance to justice. Perhaps he valued the word "order" more.
Therefore, as long as there were no problems with the order he wanted to maintain, he didn't care much about many things.
Of course, this was just Finn's speculation about Borsalino.
At the same time, after thinking carefully, Finn actually agreed with what Borsalino said.
Justice and evil were nothing but whitewashing of positions. Order and chaos were the essence.
Seeing Finn's thoughtful expression, Borsalino smiled and continued, "Perhaps it's too early to tell you this now. You still need to experience this world yourself to find your own answers."
"Perhaps," Finn nodded. After a brief pause, he looked at Borsalino and smiled. "But Vice Admiral Borsalino, what you just said is truly inappropriate for a Marine officer to express."
"Haha, is that so?" Borsalino smiled strangely, completely unconcerned.
"I'll keep it secret for you. Hahaha," Finn teased.
Borsalino didn't care whether his words were problematic or not, but he still smiled and nodded. "Thank you very much, Lieutenant Commander."
After finishing that topic, Finn asked again, "Then when did our Marines, or the World Government, lose control of the New World?"
"That's a long story. In fact, for more than eight hundred years, the World Government has never truly controlled the New World. The so-called forces of justice and evil have been rising and falling on this ocean, so this isn't the first time our Marines have lost control of the New World... There's nothing strange about this," Borsalino said first.
Finn nodded seriously. It was true. This wasn't the first time the Marines had lost control of the New World. Therefore, the current situation wasn't catastrophic. Rather, the Marines had experience in this area and weren't panicking.
"It was probably more than ten years ago, almost twenty years ago..." Borsalino said suddenly.
Finn looked at him, and Borsalino continued, "I hadn't joined the Marines at the time, so I don't know much detail. But judging by the current situation, the decline of our Marines' control over the New World began back then and has continued to this day..."
Finn's eyes flashed, as if he'd thought of something. "The legendary Rocks Pirates?"
Borsalino laughed upon hearing this. "You know quite a bit, kid. That's right, the Rocks Pirates. It was because of that powerful pirate crew's rise that our Marines' strategic deployment in the New World completely collapsed. The previously stable New World order gradually fell apart. Although the Rocks Pirates were completely destroyed after the Battle of God Valley, their crew members weren't easy to deal with. They seemed even more dangerous operating independently. This chaos caused our Marines' power in the New World to seriously shrink, leading to our current situation."
"I see. It's actually not much different from what I'd guessed," Finn said after a moment's thought.
Finn seemed to have figured something out and continued, "So this mission seems really important to our Marines?"
"Of course," Borsalino nodded approvingly, seeming to appreciate Finn's perceptiveness.
"Whether it's Admiral Sengoku or Fleet Admiral Kong, generally speaking, our Marines are currently very much hoping to regain control of the New World. This has been the goal we've been working toward for the past decade or so. This time is an excellent opportunity. Although the Roger Pirates aren't large in number, they're all elite fighters. Golden Lion Shiki is currently the most powerful pirate in the New World. If the two clash, it definitely won't end quickly. If we can arrive in time and eliminate them all in one stroke... then it'll be a major blow to the pirate forces of the New World. This way, we might reverse the unfavorable momentum and thus..." Borsalino paused here.
Finn quickly responded, "And thus sound the clarion call for a full-scale counterattack on the New World?"
"Exactly right," Borsalino nodded with satisfaction.
Just then, a Marine Captain approached, saluted Borsalino, and said, "Vice Admiral Borsalino, Admiral Sengoku requests your presence in the command room to discuss an important matter."
Borsalino nodded at him. "I understand."
After speaking, he looked at Finn again, thought for a moment, then said, "You come too, Lieutenant Commander Finn."
Finn was momentarily stunned but then replied seriously without hesitation, "Yes, Vice Admiral."
Originally, he had no qualifications to participate in a meeting at this level. But now, Admiral Sengoku had made it clear he wanted to nurture Finn. Borsalino was somewhat familiar with him. Sneaking through the back door wouldn't be a problem at all as long as no one objected.
And they were currently on Admiral Sengoku's ship. Who would dare interfere with this big shot's decisions?
Of course, Finn understood very clearly that Borsalino brought him along not because he expected strategic advice. It was out of goodwill, perhaps wanting him to experience the atmosphere of the Marines' top brass earlier.
Either way, Finn quietly stored this kindness in his heart.
As they walked toward the command room, Finn reflected on the conversation. Borsalino's perspective on order versus chaos, his ambiguous stance on justice, his willingness to share knowledge with a junior officer.
Perhaps in the future, Borsalino would become the infamous "unclear justice" Admiral, the one who clocked in and clocked out without excessive commitment.
But right now? Right now he was a thoughtful Vice Admiral willing to mentor a promising Lieutenant Commander.
Finn made a mental note. When he had the power and position to do so, he'd remember this kindness and repay it appropriately.
That's how you survived and thrived in this world. Build connections. Remember favors. Calculate everything.
But also recognize genuine goodwill when it appeared.
And Borsalino, despite his sleazy smile and ambiguous justice, had shown genuine goodwill today.