Chapter 410: The Historical Library

War Taowan spoke while lifting his head to gaze into the distance.

For some reason.

When he stood upon this land once more, a strange sense of steadiness arose within his heart.

He could not comprehend the ideals spoken of by Sabo, Ivankov, and the others.

But what he knew was that here, even if you were destitute, you could go to the relief station to receive a loaf of bread and an opportunity for work.

As long as you had hands, feet, and some strength, you would not starve to death in Britannias.

Vegapunk naturally noticed War Taowan's unusual state and asked with a smile:

"You really like this place?!"

"Mm!"

War Taowan nodded heavily, even excitedly spreading his arms wide, closing his eyes, and feeling the sea breeze brush against his face.

He felt only that all the exhaustion from the journey dispersed in this very moment.

This scene left Vegapunk somewhat dazed.

It had been a long time since he had seen such an expression on War Taowan's face.

The youth who once blocked him and Kizaru over a single rice ball had, unbeknownst to all, grown into an extremely reliable presence.

Like a shield standing before Vegapunk, he had not wavered in the slightest, even when his opponent was Kizaru, the very man who had guided his growth with his own hand!

"Old man!"

War Taowan turned to look at Vegapunk and said:

"I have met Knight Gao Wen, and I have also met those beings standing behind him who call themselves the Knights of the Round Table."

"Even speaking purely from intuition, I believe they are beings who can be trusted; at the very least..."

"They will not break their promises."

Saying this.

War Taowan paused, then gritted his teeth and said:

"Nor will they strike against their comrades."

Vegapunk was momentarily dazed and opened his mouth to say:

"Borsalino he... is also in great pain."

"His heart has always been lost, and he does not even know whether what he is doing is right or wrong."

"The so-called ambiguous justice seems to have found a space for survival in the crack between black and white, but in reality, his will and beliefs have also become blurred within such justice."

"Now..."

"I know, I know."

War Taowan interrupted Vegapunk's words, lowering his gaze to look at his own hands.

There were no palm lines on his palms, only hideous burn scars; those were the injuries left from forcibly blocking Kizaru's laser earlier.

Even though that battle had passed long ago, and even though War Taowan could understand Kizaru's position and his difficulties, it did not mean he could accept such methods!

"It's just that..."

"No matter what, I must protect you!"

"Old man!"

War Taowan turned his head to look at Vegapunk, his eyes more serious than ever before:

"If in this world, there is still one place, and one person, capable of withstanding the pressure from the World Government to protect you."

"Then it must be Britannias!"

"You have never been here; you do not know this country, no, you do not know just how powerful Gao Wen and his group have become now."

"If it had been Britannias challenging the Marine Headquarters at the Summit War instead of Whitebeard, the result of the battle would absolutely not be what it is now."

"Moreover, the most important point is... Knight Gao Wen keeps his word!"

Looking at War Taowan's fervent eyes, even Vegapunk found it difficult to remain calm at this moment, becoming curious to the extreme about the country beneath their feet!

"What exactly did you see in Britannias?!"

"If you, Old man, wish to know, then why not walk with me and use your own eyes to see what this country truly holds!"

Vegapunk nodded.

Whether out of the curiosity in his own heart or as a response to War Taowan's enthusiasm, he had no reason to refuse.

"I understand."

Having said this, he followed in War Taowan's footsteps, walking toward the depths of the port, yet just as they were about to depart far away, he stopped.

He looked back at the sea behind him.

The seawater rose and fell, endless to the eye; one merchant ship after another appeared on the distant horizon, entering the port in an orderly fashion.

Even Vegapunk had to admit that this was one of the most bustling ports he had ever seen.

However.

Among those coming and going merchant ships, he ultimately did not see the figure he had been expecting.

"With Dragon and the others' speed, barring any accidents, they should have arrived before us..."

"What is wrong, Old man?"

"Nothing."

Vegapunk withdrew his gaze, turned around, and caught up with War Taowan's pace; the figures of the two soon disappeared into the crowd coming and going at the port.

Following in War Taowan's footsteps, Vegapunk began to measure the country beneath his feet with his own legs, and with his eyes, he saw a side of it he had never witnessed before.

At one port, they received bread distributed by guards for relief; the bread had a rough texture, yet Vegapunk ate it with great seriousness.

They also broke into a courthouse and a school in succession, were arrested by local guards, and were fined one hundred thousand Berries plus three days of detention.

Contrary to Vegapunk's expectations, War Taowan did not resist this; on the contrary, he seemed somewhat delighted, as if it were intentional.

It was only when he saw that the food provided in the detention center was seaweed rice balls that he reached out and painfully covered his face.

"I shouldn't have trusted you~"

"Hehehe~ Old man, if you won't eat the rice balls, I'll help you finish them!"

"Wait, that's my dinner!"

"Delicious, truly delicious!"

"You little bastard!"

……

The two walked along, observing as they went.

Unknowingly, the smile on War Taowan's face grew increasingly brilliant, and his steps gradually became lighter.

What Vegapunk saw, however, operated on a deeper level.

"Knight Gao Wen..."

"He is overturning this world's original order and reconstructing a self-consistent system of operation!"

"Equality under the rule of law."

True equality among humans is impossible to achieve, and no one knows this better than Vegapunk.

Even with the same starting point, the same rules, and the same status, different results will arise due to individual endowments, abilities, access to information, and even accidental luck.

As time passes, these factors continuously accumulate, causing the gap between two people who started at the same point to expand without limit.

If what is acquired can also be inherited through bloodlines, then the final form of this disparity is exactly what we see today: the Celestial Dragons and the slaves crawling at their feet.

But what Vegapunk understood even more clearly was that everything Gao Wen had done was nearly the optimal solution under the current historical context.

Had he not never glimpsed similar systems in past history, Vegapunk would have almost thought that Gao Wen, like himself, had excavated scraps of knowledge from the corpse of that ancient great kingdom.

If Future Island represents a leap forward in technology, then Britannias represents a lead in systems.

Vegapunk could not say which was better.

But the reality is that Future Island, which existed dependent on the World Government, has already sunk beneath the sea under naval artillery fire, while Britannias continues to sustain its prosperity.