To win is to live, and to lose is to die.
If one gives up fighting, then victory is destined to be unattainable.
So from the beginning, Eren's only goal was to fight, fight, and fight. After Eren had finished re-examining his appearance, Commander Hange arrived at Eren's detention cell.
However, in Eren's eyes, there was no longer the look of seeing the corps as comrades as before. Compared to the greenness and immaturity of four years ago, Eren now possessed more determination and maturity.
Hange also could not understand what Eren was thinking now. The verbose Hange wanted to inquire something from Eren, but was immediately rebuked by Eren; the trust between them had long since vanished.
Hange had believed that Eren would never sacrifice Historia, but now it seemed otherwise. And all this began two years ago.
That day, the port of Paradis Island had just been completed. This was the first time Paradis Island was negotiating its own diplomacy. The country that expressed friendliness towards Paradis Island was the Hizuru country from the East. And this lady, with the image of a noblewoman, was the Hizuru country's diplomatic ambassador, Kiyomi, who was also the head of the Azumabito family.
At this moment, Ilena next to them, with a sinister smile, reminded Mikasa, "Doesn't that woman look a lot like your mother?" Hearing this, Mikasa was stunned.
Ilena then added that the woman was actually related to Mikasa by blood. Kiyomi also later asked Mikasa if she had any impression of this Azumabito family crest. Looking at this familiar symbol, Mikasa hesitated. Eren, standing beside her, encouraged Mikasa to show it to Kiyomi.
But Mikasa reluctantly stated that her mother had instructed her to keep this a secret. Hearing this, Eren countered, "Keeping a secret must be for this day. Besides, didn't you show it to me when you were little?"
Upon hearing this, Mikasa no longer insisted. She immediately showed the family crest on her arm to her relatives. This crest was inherited by Mikasa from her mother's family. Mikasa's mother had also instructed Mikasa to pass this family crest down to her children.
Upon seeing the family crest on Mikasa's arm, the ambassadors from Hizuru became excited. It turned out that over 100 years ago, Hizuru was an ally of the Eldian Empire. The general's family of Hizuru had a good relationship with the Reiss royal family and thus stayed on Paradis Island.
But after the Titan war, Hizuru was considered a defeated nation, and the country fell into extreme chaos. In the chaos, the orphan of the general's family was left on this island. Mikasa was the descendant of Hizuru's lost ruler and the hope of Hizuru!
This news was undoubtedly explosive for the Survey Corps. If Kiyomi was telling the truth, it meant that...
She held significant power in Hizuru. Kiyomi also knew that Mikasa had a unique emotional attachment to Paradis Island, and stated that as long as Mikasa wished to return home, Hizuru would always await her return.
At the same time, Kiyomi also explained the reason for their diplomatic visit to everyone, and all of it stemmed from Zeke Yeager.
Because Zeke provided Kiyomi with information about the descendants of the general's family, Kiyomi secretly met with Zeke Yeager, who provided the intelligence.
And during that secret meeting, Zeke also revealed some truths to Kiyomi. Zeke's mother, Dina, was a survivor of the Reiss royal family, so Zeke also carried royal blood.
However, Zeke hid this fact from Marley and successfully became the Warrior Leader. From a young age, Zeke inherited his father Grisha's ideology. Zeke was undoubtedly a true Eldian Restorationist.
At the tender age of seven, Zeke learned early that Marley authorities had discovered the "Fatherland Badge" that his father led. His parents were right, but they were too naive.
To protect his grandparents and preserve the "Fatherland Badge," Zeke could only betray his parents to gain a sliver of hope. The revival of Eldia could not be achieved by those who treated it as a game.
After abandoning his parents, Zeke, who inherited the Titan power, quickly rose to a certain position within the Marleyan military. It was Eldia's strategy to have the Marleyan army reclaim the Founding Titan.
Because Marley did not know of Zeke's royal bloodline, Marley had no idea what would happen if a Titan inheriting royal blood came into contact with the Founding Titan.
Zeke also knew that Kiyomi would not help him without any benefit. Therefore, Zeke provided Kiyomi with information about the "Ice Burst Stone," and only Paradis Island possessed the resources for such energy-rich Ice Burst Stones.
At this point, Kiyomi's true intentions were revealed. Kiyomi was only interested in the resources of Paradis Island, which was why she cooperated with Zeke to establish diplomatic relations.
Kiyomi then further elaborated on Zeke's plan to everyone. The first step was to conduct the "Titan experiment," to display a portion of their power and let the world witness the destructive force of the Titans. The second step was the intervention of Hizuru, with the aim of raising Paradis Island's overall military strength to world standards, so that Titans would no longer be needed in the future.
However, as Paradis Island had been isolated from the world for over 100 years, it would take at least 50 years to catch up to modern times. This required a third step. To ensure the steady development of Paradis Island over the next 50 years, the Founding Titan and the Titan inheriting royal blood must continue to exist.
According to Zeke's intention, Historia, who inherited royal blood, should inherit the Beast Titan, and the one who inherited royal blood must produce as many offspring as possible during their 13-year tenure.
If the Titans were an indispensable condition for Paradis Island's program, then Historia was willing to inherit the title of longevity. However, Eren immediately rejected this proposal upon hearing it.
Eren could not agree with Zeke's plan, not only because it would repeat the foolish act of family protection, but also because entrusting the fate of Paradis Island entirely to the Titans' operations was undoubtedly dangerous.
Therefore, Eren preferred to explore more options within the remaining time and choose another path. At this moment, Hange also believed that Eren would not sacrifice Historia, but now it seemed there was no other path to choose.
Hange did not understand why Eren was acting alone and plunging Paradis Island into crisis. Did Eren truly not care about Historia? However, upon hearing this, Eren did not wish to offer any explanation.
Eren said fiercely, "I ate the War Hammer Titan. This Titan's ability can freely use hardening, making it a difficult opponent."
This meant that no matter how securely Eren was imprisoned in a basement, he could leave at any time if he wished.
Furthermore, Eren also knew that the Survey Corps would never kill him, who possessed the Founding Titan, or Zeke, who possessed royal blood.
Eren then directly grabbed Hange's collar fiercely and glared at him, saying, "If there is any other way, please tell me."
Looking at Eren, who was unusually agitated, Hange could only temporarily retreat and choose to leave. Leaving the cell, Hange was also distressed. Why had Erwin chosen him to be commander? This was truly your mistake, Erwin.