As Alistair said, he'd given them a chance yesterday.
Since they hadn't left, they had their reasons.
This simplified things.
Everyone had their motives—Alistair wanted their loyalty; they wanted his knowledge. As prisoners, obeying Alistair was natural.
Alistair's collective punishment system wasn't just to deter escapes; it was to break them down and rebuild them.
More importantly, it freed the revolutionaries, preventing them from being held back by the pirates' training or ideological development.
Alistair had multiple considerations.
But he was right; he'd given them a chance. He hadn't guarded them or monitored them, yet they stayed, indicating a tacit agreement.
The pirates exchanged awkward glances, embarrassed about their intentions.
But as they were dispersed, the awkwardness vanished.
They'd been registered—ship, position, name, height, blood type, origin—and numbered. Calling out numbers was sufficient.
Alistair couldn't handle this, but he found Nico Robin.
Robin could use countless hands to record information and ears to listen, far exceeding the efficiency of ten or twenty scribes.
This was exploiting her.
Robin, gritting her teeth, was exhausted on the first day.
Fortunately, the workload decreased on the second day—most of the registration was complete.
She realized Alistair valued data and accounting. He required meticulous records of income and expenses.
This was only possible because Robin had the Hana Hana no Mi; otherwise, he'd need a team of scribes.
Robin could replace dozens of people.
For example, placing oil lamps—a normal person would cause chaos, but Robin's ability ensured smooth execution.
This was Robin's true value.
For example, Robin had to write five hundred "A"s using multiple brushes.
A normal person would need ten people for half an hour.
Robin could do it in ten minutes.
But…
"What's the point of this?" Robin asked Alistair while writing.
"Even if they learn to read, it's pointless."
She didn't see the value in educating these rough pirates. What would they read?
This was a typical Western paternalistic attitude—the enlightened leading the ignorant.
Alistair didn't believe in this; he believed everyone could become a "shepherd" with proper education.
He wanted to correct Robin's misconception, but the timing wasn't right; she was still wary.
She'd initially intended to use the Straw Hats, but her perspective changed during their adventures.
She was more wary of Alistair than friendly.
"If I treated these pirates this way, the world would be hopeless." Alistair shook his head, ignoring Robin's question, gazing at the pirates running around the town.
They were divided into groups of eight, sixteen per squad, with a squad leader, two group leaders, and thirteen fighters.
Group leaders commanded during training; squad leaders commanded in battle, interpreting signals and issuing firing orders.
These three could form a party cell.
Completely changing their ideology was a long-term goal.
First, make them run.
Revolutionaries were at the front and rear, setting the pace and minimum speed. Escape was difficult; even if they tried, their comrades would betray them—individual escape meant collective punishment.
Even if a whole group wanted to escape, some in the opposing group might not.
They were close comrades; escape would be immediately noticed.
After morning runs, lunch, a thirty-minute break, afternoon bayonet training began.
These weren't real guns, but wooden models of future standard-issue weapons.
Even these were insufficient; they trained in rows.
After bayonet training, live-fire exercises.
Revolutionaries went first, then the pirates, supervised by revolutionaries. This bold approach shocked the pirates.
Robin noticed that Alistair's biggest flaw was his overly optimistic view of others, his boldness was excessive.
This would lead to betrayal.
Robin thought.
She had countless ways to kill Alistair, but escaping was another matter.
Alistair focused on integrating the pirates into his system.
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