After everyone had vanished, he spoke,
"Vice Admiral Sakazuki."
"Isn't this a bit… improper?"
Sakazuki shook his head.
"It's nothing, I gave the order."
------------
On the warship at night.
The warship, escorted by Sakazuki, slowly sailed out of the port of Mechanical Island.
Following the channel that was several nautical miles wide.
Heading towards the Sabaody Archipelago.
In a temporarily arranged room.
*Swish—!*
Sakazuki was flipping through a newspaper.
*Click, click!*
The sound of a doorknob turning echoed.
Enel pushed the door open, his face beaming with excitement.
"Uncle, Doctor Vegapunk is amazing!!!"
Sakazuki put down his newspaper.
"Conquered in half a day, were you?"
Enel nodded sheepishly.
"Really, his blueprints, his designs."
"Simply!!!!"
"Too advanced!"
"At least two to three hundred years ahead of current technology."
"And there are also designs for some aircraft."
"The parameters seem much stronger than the 'Proverb'."
Sakazuki said,
"Then learn well from Mr. Vegapunk."
"It's still quite far to the Sabaody Archipelago."
"More than a month's journey."
"By the way."
"You wouldn't be here this late just for this, would you?"
Enel finally remembered what had been weighing on his mind during the day.
After a moment of silence, he spoke.
"Uncle, I saw those people who underwent human experimentation…"
Sakazuki looked at Enel and said,
"What about it?"
Enel's voice was filled with dejection.
"It was too tragic…"
He opened his mouth, but couldn't find words to describe the cruel laboratory.
Sakazuki said,
"So you want to ask."
"Why aren't those scientists being executed?"
In Enel's short life, the worst he had encountered were the pirates who killed Admiral Zephyr.
And the cruel experiments conducted by these mad scientists were even more heinous than that.
Enel was momentarily lost.
Why weren't they executed, but instead taken back?
Enel had learned from Sakazuki earlier that the government wouldn't make things difficult for them.
They would even be asked to serve the government.
Sakazuki gave Enel some time to ponder.
Then he spoke.
"If it were you, what would you do?"
Enel didn't know how to choose.
Sakazuki said,
"Think freely."
"You are the person in charge of this incident, or the ruler of the government."
"Put yourself in their shoes."
"What would you do?"
Enel was silent for a moment, then said,
"I would order their annihilation."
Sakazuki nodded.
"Very well."
"Now, put yourself in a different position."
"These scientists possess technology five hundred years ahead of the world."
"As the ruler, would you still annihilate them?"
"After all, by controlling them, you control the future."
"What would you choose?"
Enel's mouth opened with some difficulty, but he couldn't speak.
Sakazuki continued,
"And again."
"These scientists have the smartest minds in the world."
"If you control them,"
"You can have them research high-yield crops,"
"Cold-resistant and drought-resistant plants, allowing impoverished nations to be self-sufficient."
"You can have them research powerful weapons,"
"Guns and ammunition that even ordinary people can use to eliminate pirates."
"You can have them research convenient tools,"
"That would make sea travel no longer an obstacle."
"What would you choose?"
Enel fell completely silent. He couldn't force himself to say "execute" anymore.
Because these conditions were extremely beneficial to both the government and the people of the world.
If, for the sake of a few lives, they were executed, thus sacrificing the future,
That was clearly not a fair exchange.
Sakazuki looked at the silent Enel.
"There is no absolute fairness in this world."
"The value of people is not equal."
"If a general who deters enemy nations is executed by the king for killing a few civilians,"
"And the enemy nation, having lost their deterrent, annihilates this country, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths and hundreds of thousands displaced,"
"In such a scenario, is fairness still correct?"
"The word 'fairness' depends on the value one possesses."
"What we can do is choose the optimal outcome."
"The dead cannot be brought back to life."
"The living move towards the future."
"If, because of these deceased individuals, the future of the living is jeopardized,"
"That would be compounding an error."
Enel thought for a moment, let out a sigh, and drooped his head.
"Alright, I'm convinced."
Sakazuki shook his head.
"This is just a glimpse."
"After we reach the Sabaody Archipelago,"
"I'll let you witness the darkness and inequality of this world."
"We cannot achieve perfection."
"Sunlight cannot reach every inch of the land."
"Where there is sunlight, there will be shadow."
"What we must do is strive for fairness."
"And await the opportune moment…"
Suddenly, Enel's Observation Haki reached out. Sakazuki's eyebrows twitched.
Then he saw Enel walk over and ask in a low voice.
"Uncle, are you planning to rebel?"
Sakazuki looked at Enel's nervous and excited expression.
He shook his head and smiled.
"Where did you hear that word, 'rebel'?"
"How unpleasant."
Sakazuki's voice echoed leisurely.
"It should be called,"
"Usurp!"
"Power!"