​Location: The Thousand Sunny deck, navigating amidst trade routes. Date: During a period of escalating global trade conflict.

The sky today is grey, and the waves feel heavy, like a weight on my chest. We’re caught in it again. Not a typical storm, not a sea monster, but a man-made tempest: trade wars. The nobles and governments on land are locking each other down with rules and tariffs, all in the name of "protecting" their own territories. They called it "mercantilism" back then, and now they give it new names, but it smells just as rotten.

We, the pirates, who just want to sail freely, trade, or sometimes take what we need, are caught in the middle—like ants in an elephant fight. The merchant ships are facing greater risks from their own nations’ warships than from my crew, afraid to sail because every port is a new tariff trap. The result? Prices soar, goods become scarce, and everyone suffers. We’re running low on Cola for Franky and decent tea for Robin, and the price of fresh tangerines has tripled! This isn't just an economic headache; it's a navigational nightmare.

As a Time Sailor, I’ve actually witnessed this cycle again and again across centuries. The same thing happened in places like Port Royal during the real-world Age of Sail. Every kingdom thought they could get rich by hoarding gold and silver and preventing others from selling their goods. They restricted imports, pushed exports, and amassed war fleets to protect their "wealth.

But what happened? Wars, famine, and stunted innovation. People in distant lands couldn't get what they needed, and those who produced goods couldn't sell them. Everyone lost.

And now, in this modern age, we see it again with leaders imposing tariffs and threatening "trade wars" to "make their country great again." All it does is make things more expensive for their own people, strain international relations, and disrupt global supply chains.

The core delusion here is called Protectionism. These leaders—these self-proclaimed "Kings of Commerce"—don't understand that in this world, we are all interconnected. If one country coughs, another gets a cold. Building trade walls doesn't make anyone safer or richer in the long run. It only fosters resentment, limits choices, and ultimately, hurts everyone.

I see warships in the distance, not hunting me, but guarding ever-narrowing trade routes. It’s so absurd. The world is huge, full of infinite resources, yet these governments choose artificial scarcity, driven purely by the greed and fear of loss. They are actively choosing to disrupt the complex, interconnected web of the global economy—what we now call Globalization—because they prioritize perceived national control over collective prosperity.

The economic theory of Comparative Advantage teaches that the world is richer when everyone focuses on what they do best and then trades freely. When Luffy's crew focuses on finding the One Piece, we rely on suppliers for everything else! The current situation is the opposite: countries trying to be self-sufficient in everything, making them worse off in the long run.

The lesson here is profound: economic peace comes from cooperation, not from control. We must recognize that tariffs aren't paid by the foreign country; they are paid by consumers. The trade war is an economic attack on the purchasing power of the very people the leaders claim to protect. It's a lose-lose scenario disguised as patriotism.

Just like I steer the Sunny clear of converging battleships, we need to apply pressure to steer global policy toward cooperation. We need leaders who understand that economic stability stems from shared resources and open routes, not from hoarding.

The wind is changing. We need to steer clear of this mess. I won't let us become casualties of their petty games. We'll find a way out. We always do. We'll find the ports that value fair exchange over political posturing, because that's what true freedom of the seas looks like.

​Location: The Thousand Sunny deck, navigating amidst trade routes. Date: During a period of escalating global trade conflict.

The sky today is grey, and the waves feel heavy, like a weight on my chest. We’re caught in it again. Not a typical storm, not a sea monster, but a man-made tempest: trade wars. The nobles and governments on land are locking each other down with rules and tariffs, all in the name of "protecting" their own territories. They called it "mercantilism" back then, and now they give it new names, but it smells just as rotten.

We, the pirates, who just want to sail freely, trade, or sometimes take what we need, are caught in the middle—like ants in an elephant fight. The merchant ships are facing greater risks from their own nations’ warships than from my crew, afraid to sail because every port is a new tariff trap. The result? Prices soar, goods become scarce, and everyone suffers. We’re running low on Cola for Franky and decent tea for Robin, and the price of fresh tangerines has tripled! This isn't just an economic headache; it's a navigational nightmare.

As a Time Sailor, I’ve actually witnessed this cycle again and again across centuries. The same thing happened in places like Port Royal during the real-world Age of Sail. Every kingdom thought they could get rich by hoarding gold and silver and preventing others from selling their goods. They restricted imports, pushed exports, and amassed war fleets to protect their "wealth.

But what happened? Wars, famine, and stunted innovation. People in distant lands couldn't get what they needed, and those who produced goods couldn't sell them. Everyone lost.

And now, in this modern age, we see it again with leaders imposing tariffs and threatening "trade wars" to "make their country great again." All it does is make things more expensive for their own people, strain international relations, and disrupt global supply chains.

The core delusion here is called Protectionism. These leaders—these self-proclaimed "Kings of Commerce"—don't understand that in this world, we are all interconnected. If one country coughs, another gets a cold. Building trade walls doesn't make anyone safer or richer in the long run. It only fosters resentment, limits choices, and ultimately, hurts everyone.

I see warships in the distance, not hunting me, but guarding ever-narrowing trade routes. It’s so absurd. The world is huge, full of infinite resources, yet these governments choose artificial scarcity, driven purely by the greed and fear of loss. They are actively choosing to disrupt the complex, interconnected web of the global economy—what we now call Globalization—because they prioritize perceived national control over collective prosperity.

The economic theory of Comparative Advantage teaches that the world is richer when everyone focuses on what they do best and then trades freely. When Luffy's crew focuses on finding the One Piece, we rely on suppliers for everything else! The current situation is the opposite: countries trying to be self-sufficient in everything, making them worse off in the long run.

The lesson here is profound: economic peace comes from cooperation, not from control. We must recognize that tariffs aren't paid by the foreign country; they are paid by consumers. The trade war is an economic attack on the purchasing power of the very people the leaders claim to protect. It's a lose-lose scenario disguised as patriotism.

Just like I steer the Sunny clear of converging battleships, we need to apply pressure to steer global policy toward cooperation. We need leaders who understand that economic stability stems from shared resources and open routes, not from hoarding.

The wind is changing. We need to steer clear of this mess. I won't let us become casualties of their petty games. We'll find a way out. We always do. We'll find the ports that value fair exchange over political posturing, because that's what true freedom of the seas looks like.