The next morning, on the lawn beside a villa hotel in the City of Water.
The Dream Crew was lounging around— the n in beach shorts, the won in swimsuits— all sprawled out on beach chairs with sunglasses on, completely relaxed.
So were reading old newspapers, while others were scribbling or doodling.
Ryuen, who had been beaten to a pulp, lay on a beach chair with a swollen face, looking resentfully at Nami while pressing ice against his bruised and swollen head.
The scene was peaceful, with only the occasional sound of pages flipping.
"Ryuen, is today's newspaper here yet?" Anya glanced at him.
"How would I know? I'm not—"
"It's coming! It's coming! Today's newspaper will be here soon!" Feeling a certain nacing gaze, Ryuen quickly changed his words.
"Hmph!" Anya snorted arrogantly.
Ryuen felt utterly miserable. It seed like everyone in the group could bully him, making his position as captain feel incredibly frustrating.
Just then, the newspaper delivery bird flew overhead, seeming to sense sothing before diving straight down toward the villa hotel.
It landed steadily beside Ryuen's beach chair.
The Dream Crew mbers imdiately turned their attention toward it.
"Newspaper. Today's. Two copies," Ryuen said coldly.
"Squawk~~~"
The newspaper bird trembled slightly, then pulled out two newspapers and held out a wing, demanding 100 Beli as paynt.
"What's that supposed to an?"
"Huh?"
"You think I can't afford 100 Beli?!"
"Go back and tell Morgans to put it on my tab. Tell him the one asking is Ryuen, captain of the Dream Exploration Team!" Ryuen growled.
"Squawk~~~"
The newspaper bird, terrified, flapped its wings in a panic and flew off from the villa hotel without pressing further for paynt.
At that mont, Nami casually walked over, took both newspapers, and left.
Ryuen sat there, dumbfounded. He wanted to say sothing but had no idea what.
The rest of the Dream Crew quickly gathered around Nami.
Nami handed one newspaper to Robin, splitting them into two groups as they opened the papers and read the front-page headlines.
"Justice? Fairness? Are these just empty slogans now?"
"Enies Lobby has been destroyed— does this an the sea can no longer be governed by law?"
"Was Enies Lobby destroyed because the law is no longer fair?"
"If justice no longer exists, and the Marines are no longer righteous, does the World Governnt still deserve to exist?"
...
The headlines were striking.
"Morgans is really bold. Isn't he afraid the World Governnt will co after him and punish him?" Daisy said in disbelief.
"This is definitely going to stir up even bigger waves across the sea..." Nojiko murmured.
"Hey!"
"Captain, with Enies Lobby gone, things are going to get even more chaotic. Should we do sothing?" Nami called out to Ryuen, who was still lying on his beach chair.
"No need. This is the era of great pirates. Those who want to be villains and set sail have already made up their minds.
And as for the poor commoners...
If they rise up and fight back, they might have a sliver of hope. But if they stay silent, there's only one path left for them— death.
In the end, it's their choice." Ryuen said calmly.
After hearing his words, the Dream Crew mbers fell silent. It did seem like things were exactly as Ryuen had described— in many parts of the sea, there really was no hope left.
"But those orphans... they're so pitiful..." Robin said softly, unable to hide her sorrow.
As soon as she spoke, the expressions of the Dream Crew mbers changed, sympathy appearing on their faces.
Ryuen frowned slightly, then clicked his tongue and said, "Nami, contact Lindgas. I need to talk to him."
"Oh~~~"
Seeing that Ryuen wasn't joking, Nami stopped teasing him and imdiately took out the transponder snail to contact Lindgas.
Since the girls had decided to do sothing good, Ryuen didn't want to discourage their enthusiasm. Instead, he decided to take this opportunity to further boost their reputation.
That ant donating money to the World Governnt's orphanage. However, the condition for the donation was that he had to take control of the orphanage, so the money wouldn't end up in the wrong hands.
Controlling the orphanage would, of course, require Lindgas' cooperation. Since it was an official World Governnt organization, he was the most suitable person to handle it.
Once the transponder snail connected, Ryuen explained the plan to Lindgas, but Lindgas didn't respond imdiately and stayed silent for a while.
"Hello!"
"Lindgas, are you even capable of doing this? If not, I'll find soone else!" Ryuen grew impatient and urged him.
"I can do it!"
"Of course, I can!" Lindgas quickly responded when he heard that Ryuen might replace him.
Ryuen knew that when he ntioned replacing soone, he was serious, and Lindgas still wanted to enjoy a few more years.
"Good, I knew you could do it, Lindgas. Once it's done, just let know!" Ryuen said, satisfied.
"Click~"
After that, Ryuen hung up the phone.
"Ryuen, you're so smart to think of this plan!" Daisy looked at Ryuen with shining eyes, full of admiration.
"But, the World Governnt orphanage... I've never heard of it before," Robin said, feeling puzzled.
As soon as Robin spoke, Daisy, Hog, and Leah all showed confused expressions.
"I don't know about that, but the World Governnt definitely has this kind of institution.
As for why you haven't heard of it, I guess it's because this organization has been completely infiltrated by corrupt people," Ryuen said, shaking his head.
The group fell silent.
Over the years, they had visited many islands and countries, and they knew very well how the world worked.
It was because of this experience that, under Ryuen's influence, they had developed their current personalities.
"But, Ryuen, who do you plan to have manage this orphanage?
Also, the orphanages are scattered across the seas, so that's definitely not going to work. How do you plan to solve that?" Nami asked, furrowing her brow.
When Ryuen had talked to Lindgas earlier, they had already agreed that the World Governnt would subsidize part of the cost, and the rest would co from the revenue from selling maps, which they'd donate.
If the orphanage wasn't properly monitored, Nami definitely wouldn't hand over the money they made from selling newspapers.
"I've thought about that too. We'll bring the orphans to the Oykot Kingdom; there's almost no one there, so it would be a great place for the orphanage.
As for the orphans scattered around the seas, we'll need to cooperate with old Sengoku and use their warships to transport them to East Blue.
As for managent, we'll have Bellere take charge. She'll definitely be willing to help," Ryuen explained his plan to his partners.
In the end, everyone agreed with Ryuen's proposal!
This was sothing they could handle, and if word of it got out, the Dream Exploration Team's reputation would rise even higher.
And it would be a positive rise!
Another reason was that Ryuen hadn't forgotten the saying, "A strong youth ans a strong nation." By raising these orphans, they would definitely stand with them in the future!
Either way, they couldn't go wrong with this plan!
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