One Piece: The Living Devil

"Sure enough, it still won't work...", Otohime lowered her head in frustration.

She didn't even try to come up with any ideas. Just by looking at Rosse's expression, she knew it was not feasible.

'Saint Rosse is much smarter than me, and what he can think of will definitely be farther ahead than what I can.'

After spending so much time communicating, such a mindset had already formed in her mind.

"Then what should I do?", Otohime asked weakly.

"This question, you need to ask yourself. Are you doing things for me, for yourself, for the merfolk, or for Fish-Man Island?", Rosse threw out this question, only smiling as he looked at Otohime.

Words can't resolve conflicts and contradictions; they're only useful when deceiving those who have no power.

Besides, this couldn't be called deception either, it was just helping Otohime find her life goal.

To be fair, he could really be considered a good person.

"Doing things for whom...", Otohime seemed to be thinking. She actually wasn't stupid, just that her current vision was limited to what was right in front of her.

Rosse's words had an underlying meaning, and she understood it very clearly.

There were many existing contradictions. She needed to find the one she most wanted to resolve, and then move forward step by step, rather than only having an empty fantasy.

Target specific problems, then analyze specific outcomes.

'If it were Saint Rosse, he could definitely figure it out in an instant. I'm still too useless...', Otohime sighed in frustration, looking at Rosse beside her with envy.

This question, she couldn't really think it through.

Or rather, deep down she actually had an answer, but she didn't dare to say it.

Saying it out loud would mean overturning everything she currently understood.

"Me? What kind of person do you think I am?", Rosse smiled.

"A good person!", Otohime answered without hesitation.

Even though the two had known each other for only a short time, through their conversations, she still gave a firm answer.

"A good person?", Rosse let out a chuckle, "Have you heard of the Ohara incident?"

"Uh... I've heard a bit," Otohime pursed her lips. In truth, she didn't know much.

She had only heard that the scholars of Ohara researched forbidden history, and as a result, the entire island was erased by the World Government.

And she had heard that the process was quite bloody and cruel.

"The Ohara incident, I was the commanding officer," Rosse said blandly.

"Ah?", Otohime looked at Rosse in surprise. She hadn't watched the world broadcast, nor did she intentionally learn about it, so she truly didn't know Rosse was the commander.

"In the Ohara incident, a total of 5,892 people died, including 259 historians. The rest were all related personnel who knew the situation," Rosse calmly said.

"Over five thousand people...", Otohime pursed her lips, looking at Rosse with sympathy.

She thought, since Rosse brought this up, he must be feeling uneasy about the deaths of these people.

"You think I feel guilty?", Rosse raised an eyebrow.

"Huh? You don't?", Otohime asked in confusion.

"Then think about it. If those historians incited the people and wanted to overthrow the World Government, how many more would have died?", Rosse asked with a smile.

"Um... maybe ten times that?", Otohime asked cautiously.

This was outside her knowledge base.

Talking with Rosse always made her feel so ignorant.

Every time Rosse said something, she couldn't respond at all.

Aside from shouting slogans, it seemed she really didn't know anything.

"Since the founding of the World Government, the largest scale of incitement and rebellion happened 200 years ago. That incident affected the whole world and the first half of the Grand Line, involving 72 islands, 4 member nations, 51 non-member nations, and over 20 million people," Rosse said with a smile.

"You mean that incident?", Otohime's eyes widened. She knew what Rosse was referring to.

That rebellion was sparked by a great pirate alliance of the time and almost spread across the entire Grand Line. It also had a bit of connection with Fish-Man Island.

Because at the time, Fish-Man Island was the only bridge linking the first and second halves of the Grand Line. The then-king of Ryugu Kingdom also got involved in the incident.

"You know the result, right?", Rosse asked calmly.

"I know...", Otohime lowered her head and said word by word, "Everyone who participated in the rebellion, whether they were merfolk, fishmen, humans, or other demi-humans, were all killed by the World Government. From the kings and great pirates to civilians and slaves, blood flowed like a river."

Ordinary people would never know about this matter.

In fact, the entire incident had been buried by the World Government.

The only reason Otohime knew about it was because the matter was directly related to Fish-Man Island.

And after that incident, the king of Fish-Man Island was killed, and the new king bowed to the World Government and joined the alliance nations.

This event also marked the beginning of the connection between Fish-Man Island and the World Government.

Since she had always been devoted to merfolk survival, Otohime understood the incident even more thoroughly. She was one of the few people on Fish-Man Island who knew about it.

After all, it happened 200 years ago, even Neptune wasn't too clear about it. He only knew that Ryugu Kingdom joined the World Government at that time.

"Although it's a bit bloody, I can understand the World Government's actions, and I understand Saint Rosse's actions as well," Otohime seemed slightly reluctant, but still said those words.

She truly felt the World Government had killed too many people, but she could also understand Rosse's preemptive methods.

If the matter had escalated, the death toll wouldn't have been just a few thousand.

In that incident, apart from the 20 million people suppressed by the World Government, the number of people harmed by the rebellion wasn't any less.

Fish-Man District was established during that time, used to shelter the orphans affected by the chaos.

It was from then on that Fish-Man District became a place for housing orphans.

It was only later, due to management issues, that it became a grey area mixed with both good and bad people.

"I don't need your understanding. I just want to tell you, I don't think I did anything wrong," Rosse gently shook his head, then looked straight at Otohime and said bluntly, "If you want to get something, you have to give something. Words can't solve any problem. Only when people are truly afraid in their hearts will they dare not cross that red line."

Upon hearing this, Otohime hesitated for a moment, but still said, "Saint Rosse, I can understand what you mean, but I still want to try according to my own way of thinking."

In this regard, she still had her own persistence. Because, if everything had to rely on force, then her existence would just be a joke.

With her frail body, what could she even do?

She could understand Rosse's thinking, but still wanted to stick to her own.

Because if even this belief were denied, she truly wouldn't know what else she could do.

"Then how about we make a bet?", Rosse said with a smile.

"Saint Rosse, what kind of bet?", Otohime's eyes showed curiosity.

"I'll send you back to Fish-Man Island. On the way, we'll stop at three places: the Sabaody Archipelago, the Holy Land, and Fish-Man Island."

"I'll simulate three scenarios. You'll need to complete some simple tasks, like protecting yourself, rescuing slaves, escaping successfully, or protecting others, but you cannot use your special ability," Rosse said.

"Okay! I agree!", Otohime nodded seriously.

Hearing Rosse's general idea, she became a bit interested too.

She also wanted to see, without using her special ability, how far she could go.

After all, those in power among humans were mostly immune to her abilities. If she wanted to persuade them, she'd still have to rely on her own strength.

"The bet?", Otohime followed up.

"If you can complete even one of the scenarios, then whatever you want to do, I'll support you with all my strength," Rosse said with a smile.

"What if I lose?", Otohime pursed her lips. She felt sure she would win.

If it were winning two out of three, there was a chance to lose.

But winning just one out of three, she felt she definitely wouldn't lose.

"If you lose, then I won't send you back. Just obediently stay by my side. When the Levely happens, I'll let you go," Rosse said with a smile.

"No problem!", Otohime agreed without hesitation.

Following Rosse, she could learn a lot of things, which she didn't mind at all.

Not to mention, it was only until the next Levely, which was just something next year.

Such a short time, nothing to worry about.

No matter win or lose, she could accept it.

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