Comrades, those who share the same aspirations.
Hancock didn't have many areas to bargain.
The conditions of the Warlords were fixed. Even if the World Government pardoned their past and future crimes, the Kuja Pirates weren't really different from "Heavenly Demon" Donquixote and Crocodile. Their application of the Warlord status was what truly troubled the World Government. No matter what the Kuja Pirates did, the threats they could pose were still limited.
Especially after they were recruited, with Impel Down and the Holy Land, Mariejois, secured, the Kuja Pirates' external forces couldn't really develop to a terrifying level.
Because the Kuja Pirates' system had already determined that the pirate crew's strength was determined by Amazon Lily. The population of Amazon Lily meant that the Kuja Pirates couldn't reach the sky.
And Alistair's goal had been achieved.
Though he was always mixed in with the crowd, he was still a little afraid that Sengoku, Hina, and Gion, who possessed Observation Haki, would discover his presence as an outsider within the Kuja Pirates.
Hancock's performance was really good. She immediately subdued most of the people, preventing Sengoku and the other three from being able to observe the Kuja Pirates with Observation Haki. He was naturally safe.
After Hancock dispelled the Mero Mero Mellow, those Marines were frozen in time, completely unaware that a long time had passed.
"Indeed, Devil Fruits like the Toki Toki no Mi, the Yomi Yomi no Mi, and the Mero Mero no Mi seem to have the ability to manipulate the flow of time. Though this kind of time stop is something no one wants, if used well, it could have amazing effects."
As for what those effects were, Alistair hadn't really thought about it carefully. But the Toki Toki no Mi had the power to allow people to travel to the future, while the Mero Mero no Mi, as long as you turned someone to stone and then unsealed them before you died, that person could instantly skip decades...
This was completely against the laws of physics. Perhaps this was the unique world rule of the world of One Piece.
He thought this to himself, while the Amazonian warriors cheered.
For them, this was an undeniable victory. Though they didn't know why the enemy came to Amazon Lily, or why they said they were going to appoint Hancock as a Warlord, the warriors of Amazon Lily had gained the right to roam the seas without being pursued by the Marines.
They had won this battle.
"But this is just a tactical victory. Strategically, the Marines have won."
"What is strategy? What is tactics?" Ran had become familiar with Alistair since he woke up, so while they were eating, she still asked about what Alistair had said.
Hancock originally wanted him to eat in her bedroom, but Alistair refused this privilege, saying nonsensical things like "From the masses, to the masses." Then he spent his days mingling in the ordinary Amazonian warriors' canteen. He even persuaded the Empress to eat there with him.
But Hancock refused.
Ultimately, she was only moved by Alistair's goal. It was like the people who wanted to overthrow the imperial system. Though their goals were the same, their paths diverged after that goal was achieved.
This goal was just a crossroads. Once they reached this crossroads, they would go their separate ways.
And Alistair's goal was so big that she might have to follow him all the way to the end to see the scenery.
And on this journey, Alistair was confident that he could slowly make her truly his... comrade.
But for now, she still had a bit of a kingly air, she was a little controlling, but in Alistair's view, there was no difference between this king and a tribal chief. The entire Amazon Lily had a total population of only five thousand, and only two thousand warriors. They were strong, but against the World Government, they couldn't withstand a single Buster Call.
So, they weren't really a "king," they were more like a female tribal leader.
After getting to know these Amazonian warriors, Alistair started to sell his ideas whenever he had the chance.
He swallowed the food in his mouth and said, "Tactics are when you encounter a pirate crew at sea and have a battle with them. That's tactics. And if you defeat them, it means the tactics have won."
This was the canteen exclusively for the executives and national warriors of the Kuja Pirates. Besides them, there were no other Amazonian warriors.
The attention Alistair received here was no less than outside, it was just that there were fewer people and the quality was higher, so it saved Alistair some screening costs.
Everyone turned to listen to Alistair's high-level theories. One Amazonian national warrior, Aphelandra, who was about ten feet tall, strong and sturdy, but with a well-proportioned figure, asked like a curious child, "So, what is strategy?"
"Strategy is that the Marines have achieved their goal: they recruited the Kuja Pirates. The Kuja Pirates will no longer attack the Marines and cause trouble for them. They have saved a lot of manpower that they can use for other things. And after they brought the Seastone warship to Kuja Island, they achieved their goal of intimidating Kuja Island. From now on, Kuja Island will have to leave more pirates behind to defend their lair, instead of being able to freely take all the warriors who know Haki out.
"From this perspective, the Marines have achieved a two-for-one goal. No matter how good they sound, they still have the potential to attack your island. So, when you go out to plunder, you can't go too far from the island. And the people who stay behind can't be too weak. It can only be said that once the Marines appear in this sea area, their goal has been achieved. Kuja Island is destined to be passively and negatively resisting."
"Oh, what should we do?" Not everyone in this world was a strategist, especially since they didn't even know what strategy was. Before, they were excited to see the Empress drive away the Marines and establish their prestige. But after Alistair explained it this way, they realized that there was only one path ahead for Kuja Island: the Marines would become stronger and stronger, while their Kuja Island would become increasingly overwhelmed by dividing their forces.
They didn't dare to sail far to plunder, for fear of their lair being stolen.
It could be said that just by showing up, the Seastone warship had already confined the Kuja Pirates to the vicinity of their lair.
As for what other effects the Seastone warship, this strategic weapon, had, Alistair wasn't comfortable telling them.
But it was clear that they were immediately scared by Alistair's words.
Everyone frowned, thinking about how to break the situation.
But some people's minds were simpler. Most of the national warriors hadn't left the country to see the Grand Line. The only people they had seen who were capable were the Kuja Pirates' upper echelon and Alistair.
So, their national captain, a cold and beautiful woman named Kyokyo with phoenix eyes and fiery red lips, frowned and asked, "So, how should we solve this, Alistair?"
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