Chapter 134: Each Other’s Choices (part 1)
Watching Obei leave without looking back, Aoxi and the others also lost the desire to stay here any longer and hurriedly followed.
“Hey, Kanjuro.”
Wright, walking at the rear, nudged Kanjuro beside him with his elbow and said softly:
“Why does it feel like your personality has changed after this trip down?”
“With your previous personality, you wouldn’t have watched Miss Obei and that group dawdle over some cooperation talk; you would’ve just killed until that group compromised.”
As an old acquaintance who had dealt with Kanjuro since John’s time, Wright was quite familiar with Kanjuro’s personality.
Decisive, ruthless.
When encountering uncooperative people or matters, he would basically just slash with a single stroke, emphasizing solving the troublemaker if the trouble couldn’t be solved.
“Because in this operation, I’m not the protagonist, or rather, I want to see just how far those two can go.”
Kanjuro looked at the two little ones muttering ahead and had no intention of keeping it a secret.
Ever since Aoxi’s completely unexpected wing-spreading a short while ago, Kanjuro had shed the mindset of treating the red and blue pair as children.
He began to formally place the two on an equal footing with himself, no longer treating Aoxi and Obei from a senior’s perspective.
Now, since Obei, also an executive, had taken the initiative to implement her own plan, he just needed to wait for the results.
The two chatted idly behind, while Aoxi and Obei ahead weren’t idle either.
“Obei, why did you have to say such harsh things just now?”
“Harsh? I was just stating the facts to them.”
“Even so, you didn’t have to say they were like homeless wild dogs or whatever; I saw many of the children there almost crying from your scolding.”
Aoxi could clearly sense the unwillingness and anger in the hearts of those Shandia people just now.
“Is that so? Then that’s just as I wished.”
“Only by thoroughly scolding them awake can they truly see their current situation.”
Obei’s gaze didn’t turn to Aoxi but kept scanning the surrounding environment.
“Only by understanding their own weakness can they shed that useless stubbornness and arrogance and sincerely cooperate with us.”
“Yes, yes, that’s how it is~”
Aoxi nodded as if she understood.
“But Obei, why did you talk to them about cooperation? Can’t we just follow the recording pointer to Golden Island ourselves?”
Like the others thought, Aoxi believed they could just follow the recording pointer to Shandora and snatch it from those sky people.
There was really no need to get involved in the conflict between the two groups.
However, Obei seemed to have her own considerations.
She stopped, facing Aoxi—and also explaining to the others behind:
“There are three reasons.”
Obei held up one finger.
“First, if the legend is true, we can’t carry away an entire island’s worth of gold in one go; we’ll inevitably need to build a stronghold here afterward.”
“Sister La’s requirement is to turn Golden Land into Beasts Pirates’ territory, which also considers establishing a hidden outpost in ‘Paradise.'”
“I see, you want those Shandia people to help us handle the island garrison duties.”
Kanjuro nodded upon hearing Obei’s explanation; this was indeed a good idea.
“Then why not go directly to the sky people? Didn’t those Shandia people say Shandora is in their hands now?”
According to the Shandia people, the sky people were clearly stronger and more suitable for garrison work.
“That’s precisely the second reason.”
Obei held up a second finger.
“From a personal emotions perspective, the Shandia people are the weak side, the sky people the strong. Helping the Shandia people is aiding the weak against the strong.”
“From a national righteousness perspective, the Shandia are the invaded, the sky people the invaders. This is us helping them resist the invasion.”
“Mhm, mhm!”
“That’s right!”
Aoxi nodded vigorously; that’s how it should be~
“The above are reasons to fool those Shandia people.”
“Uh…”
“In fact, precisely because the Shandia people can’t defeat the sky people on their own, that’s why we should choose them.”
“Aiding the weak against the strong” is essentially a means of checks and balances.
“Once they set foot again on their homeland absent for hundreds of years, I believe that feeling will make them cling to that land at all costs.”
“So if we help the Shandia people take back Shandora, from a realistic interests perspective, they’ll have to rely on Beasts Pirates’ power to keep holding it afterward.”
“From an ethnic emotions perspective, we’re the heroes who helped drive out the invaders. With those Shandia people’s mindset, the friendship between them and Beasts Pirates afterward will be unbreakable.”
After all, a Roronoa from over three hundred years ago was still remembered by them today; such a great favor in helping reclaim their hometown would probably have them willing to go through fire and brimstone afterward.
“Moreover, our current personnel aren’t ample enough to station island garrison troops in a place this far from the main base, halfway across the Grand Line.”
“So what I need to do is make those Shandia people willingly guard this territory for Beasts Pirates, whether from realistic interests or personal emotions.”
“Brilliant.”
Kanjuro voiced sincere praise, while also having to sigh that while the usual indecisive “slash slash slash” mode was fine, partnering occasionally with brainy companions like this was quite enjoyable.
“Uh… oh, o-of course. It’s, it’s just like I thought~”
“As expected of my sister.”
Aoxi pretended to pat Obei’s shoulder, though she muttered inwardly.
Her intuition told her that even without those reasons above, Obei would still choose to side with the Shandia people, just like herself.
“So what’s the third reason?”
“Hm… the third reason is my personal one.”
Obei retracted her two raised fingers and continued walking, saying as she went:
“I’m interested in those unique weapons the Shandia people developed using shells; this might be the breakthrough for designing my first weapon.”
The special weapon system the Shandia people developed with shells gave Obei plenty of inspiration, so she hoped to establish a long-term, stable relationship with them.
“So next, we just wait for those Shandia people to nod? Will they agree?”
“They definitely will; that chieftain is a sensible man.”
Obei’s tone was very certain.
“Besides, no one can refuse the temptation of going home.”
……
“Chieftain! Do you really plan to cooperate with those people of unknown origin?”
“Those outsiders can’t be trusted!”
“Yeah! Our ancestors’ land needs to be taken back by us ourselves.”
“Say something!”
In an old tent, the Shandia Chief looked at the circle of Shandia warriors around him—some emotional, some silent—but just silently drank his pumpkin juice.
This was juice pressed from the miraculous crop Roronoa brought to Shandora over three hundred years ago; whenever he was undecided, he always liked a cup.
The orange-yellow pumpkin juice entered his mouth, its sweet taste slightly easing the chieftain’s headache from pressure.
“Alright, quiet.”
Tapping his wooden staff, the chieftain first turned his gaze to the leader of these warriors.
“Zannick, what do you think?”
