All this talk about how someone needs to throw away their compassion to achieve true strength is pure babble, it is just what the weak of heart say to themselves so that they can justify and protect their weak minds, "it is necessary" "it is the way things are" all things that just perpetuate a circle of stupidity.
It is true that living isn't easy, that people can be cruel and selfish, but that is the thing they should be all these things but they don't null out compassion, to find true strength is to find a balance between all these characteristics in yourself, and this is HARD so many just find easier to give up a part of themselves then lie saying it is true strength that it was "necessary", little Mo may be inexperienced but he has much more chance of find true strength than any of those around him.
Anyway as always i am liking where this is going, still hope that Mo doesn't just turn in a self-centered douchebag just because it is the "way things are", i do want to see is a badass and even merciless, but all these characteristics only have merit if he has others opposite ones to balance things out.