piratejournal | [Voice]

[Almost everything was lost even to Smoker's keen ears going down to a muted mumbled like waves. His blood ran cold at the name Poseidon. Poseidon. A lost weapon capable of destroying the world. A name no one should recognize. A name that could have his own marines back in his own world execute him for learning too much about. Humanity as a plague? This guy thought they were right?]

[Too cold.]

[It's too cold.]

Sorry, what was that name again? [It couldn't be. It just couldn't be. Coincidences like that don't exist. Or at the very least, they shouldn't.]

Phoenix Ikki.

[There's just a brief pause before Ikki speaks again. He's not one to care about clarifications, but he must make one here.]

For the record, in the place where I'm from, humanity as a whole resembles a plague to the world. Humans have forgotten even themselves and are worse than animals at times. They kill each other over pointless wars just to see who can claim a piece of land that grants nothing to them, over half the world starves and dies to mere colds while a few privileged ones have everything they could wish for and yet claim for more. They are selfish, arrogant, they think that the world is there to serve them, for them to take everything it has without worrying about how damaging it can be... About what kind of ruined world they will leave to their own children. People spend money they don't have and leave their children to shoulder the debt, they use each other and throw each other away like trashes. And the world dies because of it, nature and animal life are pushed to their limit. It's probable that in a few hundred of years humanity will bring the world to a point where life isn't possible anymore, human or not.

But not all of them are like that. Not all humans are like that or have so little care about themselves and the world. I saw it, even in the hellish place on Earth, where children are sold in exchange of food as slaves, where slaves are worth even less than beasts... I saw someone who didn't belong to that humanity, someone pure with a good heart that only knew of love and compassion, who endured all the pain with a small smile, always praying for the best, always trying to do whatever was in her hand to make a difference, even a little one. Even at the cost of her life. It's for people like that which I fight for, because as much as the rest of humanity in my world has become lost, there are still some who, given the chance, may make a difference. As long as people like that are born, I can't see humanity being the plague gods claim it to be.

[ERM WELL... Okay Smoker's world is that fucked up too... you know... people...]

[But as Ikki explains his reason for fighting to save humanity Smoker slowly lets out a breathe he didn't even know he was holding. He just grunts in acknowledgement.]

Same.

Which is why I can't call the mar-- Navy of this world our enemies yet.

Maybe we haven't found that one marine with good, but if we alienate them all instantly, we never will either.

What are you fighting for here?

The same thing as back in my world.

I have a question for you now, what does it matter if there's one or more marines with good in them? In your world, if you found a man that fought for people who were being oppressed, that defended them when the local authority failed to for whatever reason. Would that matter to you? Change the fact that they are criminals? If you were in charge of hunting down criminals, would you not chase them because they have good in them even if they work on the opposite side of your law?

[Ikki doesn't really know this man, but he doubts anyone would really let that sway them from their duty. If they were, who is to say that they couldn't be swayed by the wrong things?]

[He has to choose his words carefully, but it's the truth.] I would chase them knowing full well that they could lead me to the worser criminals, and if they can't escape me, then they wouldn't be able to escape the stronger brass either.

What crew are you with again?

So, you would still consider them your enemies. I think the same of the marines here, if they don't attack me I won't harm them, but so long as they raise their weapons against me, or my crew... My hand won't hesitate, because I know that even when two people fight for the greater good, if their convictions don't match, there's no one they are going to be swayed.

[Pause.]

The Spade Pirates.

Hn. I'm not sure purposely putting yourself in a position where they feel they must attack is any good.

[As for Portgas' crew? No comment.]

In case you missed it, we were put in this position of sailing outside the law, whether we like it or not. And that is enough for them to feel that the must attack if our little encounter on Nuevo Empieza is any indication.

And if I'm not mistaken, your crew also was engaged in an incident with a nobleman, were they not? So far as the marines of this world is concerned, they probably think they're just dealing with violent outsiders. Proving them correct isn't going to change their minds.

[There's silence before Ikki chuckles.]

Aah, that's right. That guy was a nobleman, supposed to be adored and respected even as he beat down another human being, because said beaten person was a slave and thus deserved it. That incident was mostly the captain, not the whole crew, but I have the feeling that you don't care about that detail. And neither does the Navy.

[There's a short pause before Ikki adds something in a very neutral tone.]

Just so you know, what you just said is something I've heard a couple of times before. To be precise, on the mouths of Poseidon and Hades, to justify the need for humanity to be wiped from the world, apparently us rebelling against their attempt to destroy humanity did nothing but "prove them correct" as to why we all should be destroyed. Just wanted to note it as a funny little coincidence.

[Except it's not funny, neither Ikki really considers it a little coincidence. He knows that this man is with the Shepherds, that crew that decided that they would hunt down others for piracy, despite having to real jurisdiction or right to do so beyond just their own hearts and consciences. And now he has heard him do everything he can to defend and justify the Navy for attacking them, throwing blame of one incident caused by one person of the crew into the rest of them, "alienating" them for who they sailed with. Ikki hopes that back at his world the guy is a policeman or something similar, it certainly sounds like one.]

I care. [Quiet. It doesn't change the fact that they broke the law, but some laws shouldn't be obeyed. And it made a lot more sense now that Portgas wouldn't allow such a thing.]

[And Smoker's blood runs cold.] That name again... Poseidon.

I definitely don't think humanity should be destroyed, if anything I think the navy here is trying to protect their world from destruction like that. Destruction like ....

What can you tell me about P-- [His mouth is dry around the cigars. It's not a name he can say. The marines would kill civilians to protect the world from knowledge like that and Smoker doesn't know what they'd do to him personally. He doesn't want to find out either.] That name.

Didn't mean to say that you think that.

[But he thinks that this man may be the close minded type. Or the type that forces himself to be close minded because if he isn't then everything he knows will be thrown upside down and destroyed leaving him with little that remains sure and true. It's not something Ikki likes, in fact he despises those things, but he understands where they come from.]

Yes, most probably they are. I'm sure that most of the pirates they are used to aren't searching for the gem just to get back home, neither visit islands to explore them. And having people appear out of no where... With the way this world seems to be I'm sure they consider it dark magic and thus something evil even without extra provocation on our part. Do I enjoy them being our enemies? No, I would prefer if they ignored us and just focused on the pirates of this world, for their own good. But things can't be that way, and if I've to fight them I won't hesitate, it's that simple. You can argue that we could avoid getting on their targets list, but I'm not going to allow something I don't agree with to happen just to keep my own skin clean.

[There's a pause as Smoker asks about "that name", only now he realizes that when he asked for a name again it probably was that one and not his own.]

I can tell you many things, but I'm not sure they correlate to whatever Poseidon means in your world. Anyway, Poseidon is a god in my world, one of the strongest ones. Together with his brothers Zeus and Hades, he stands at the top of the world, even above other deities. Zeus rules over the land, Poseidon over the sea and Hades rules the Underworld, the land where people's souls go when they die. In my world, Zeus left on a journey centuries ago and left his domains in charge of his daughter Athena, ever since Poseidon has often tried to claim control over the land and more recently tried to make a "spring laundry" with humanity as I mentioned before.

[His next words come in a lower tone as he remembers how the attack occurred. How it started and how long it took them to even realize what was going on.]

I don't remember the exact numbers but I'm sure that the victims were on the miles by the time we were able to counterattack, he caused an eternal heavy rain to fall over the land while the sea became ferocious and raised, devouring beaches and islands as if nothing. It could have been worse, had Athena not offered herself as a sacrifice and convinced Poseidon to drop an equal amount of water over her as the one he was dropping over the land, had he thrown it all on the land we would have faced what could be considered an end of the world.

I'm surprised you don't ask about Hades, though, since for me Poseidon and his brothers are names that are always easily tied together. Doesn't that name ring any bells for you? Unless you know him by another name, he was called Pluton in another culture, though that wasn't his real name.

A god, huh?

[His throat is tight about the explanation of Poseidon, that's a little too eerie to his own world, even for a "coincidence." He's about to explain that and the thing about how they're weapons, which would require locking this conversation anyway.]

[But then Pluton.]

[Well.]

[Shit.]

[He can't say anything to that. His stomach refuses to settle, his throat is all too tight and --]

[What can he even begin to say? That they're weapons to destroy the world so dangerous that the Government would destroy even innocent civilians to protect everyone else from it?]

[Of course he can't say that. And he wants to leave Nico Robin out of it as much as possible too.]

They are the end of the world in my world. [His mouth is so dry, wondering what One Piece is. A weapon? All the pieces of the locations to them?]

I doubt getting home is as easy as finding the shards and making a wish. What happens then? To this world? Who scattered the pieces in the first place? If the navy is scared because it's the end of their world for them, shooting aggressive outsiders first and asking questions later might not be such a bad policy.

The end of the world, eh? Any reason why or is it the same great reasoning they use in my world?

[He's assuming that Poseidon and Pluton are people as well, or gods or something like that. Though it's curious that they would use those names, mixed cultures from his world.]

Don't get me wrong, I don't think the gem will serve us for anything good. But it's clear that the questions we have aren't going to be answered by anyone but ourselves and for that we have to explore and look for those shards or anything else that may be useful.

I understand why the Navy acts the way they do, but just because I do I'm not going to stop doing what I have to do. We're appearing in this world through powers probably beyond their comprehension, just for that they would shoot us and ask later. And with how we're all directed to the fountain and the legend of the shards? No, I don't think it's really possible to strike a deal with them, I know I wouldn't be willing to make a deal if I was in their position.

They're weapons. Weapons made to destroy half of... everything. [It's still more than he should say. And not enough. Then again, Nico Robin was protecting the weapons from being found, the Whitebeards were enough firepower to destroy the world without that, and as for the rest...]

If the shards or gem or whatever also amounts to a weapon of that caliber, then I wouldn't blame the navy here for doing everything in their power to keep it from ever being discovered, whatever the cost, especially from pirates who have already shown a reckless disregard for lives here.

[Sounds ominous. But rather than by the weapons, Ikki would be worried about the people using them. By themselves they would hardly be dangerous after all, not unless they are sentient somehow like the Cloths.]

Of course. I'm sure they would prefer much more if they had such a weapon under they control, to make sure that no one uses it to destroy the world. With that in mind it certainly justifies that they would execute people just for sailing without license and punching a noble. Anything to protect the world. And everyone knows that killing those who you consider criminals doesn't count as murder as well, right?

Listen now, I don't fucking care what you think or believe, but know this: Killing someone without even a trial, without a real proof that they are criminals, and even under those conditions, it's a murder. It's a complete disregard of lives, just as the one we have supposedly showed. No one's life is worth more than others, noble, Navy soldier, pirate or civilian. A murder is a murder, no matter how much you sugarcoat it, how justified it was or how many other lives it saved. The only real difference between them and us, is that we know that and don't bother to hide it or lie to ourselves, saying that it's for the "greater good" or expecting some kind of regard for our souls when we die. "Justice" is nothing but a dirtied and corrupted word when used to justify a murder, no matter the circumstances.

I don't blame them for wanting to protect their world. But I blame them for allowing people to be used as slaves, I blame them for protecting someone who uses and abuses of others just because he has more money than them. I blame them for thinking that killing someone, just because they consider them a criminal, is "justice" and makes them morally superior to us who attack them for taking our comrades.

[It's not that he disagrees... on the first part at least.]

[But still, Smoker winds up bristling.]

[Not his world, not his responsibility, but it doesn't matter. Real justice, true justice is universal, should be universal, and if it wasn't, then it was his job to fix it.]

At no point did I say they were perfect. There are certainly many problems here, not the least of which includes labeling otherwise innocent children as pirates worth murdering to keep the world safe. Those actions are not defendable.

But they don't warrant complete and total murder in response either.

[Ikki sighs, exasperated.]

Exactly, what the fuck do you want? People promising and swearing that they won't kill any soldier even if their lives depend on that? Or that we all back down and leave Isla Empieza, and the Navy, who knows better, and just hope that the new arrivals aren't stupid enough to get killed right away?

No, but I wouldn't mind the latter.

When you start off assuming the worst of an entire group of people you often force their hands into desperate situations.

Said a guy who is assuming the worst of us all already. If I didn't think it would be too stupid I would think that you would prefer every one of us killed since we're pirates and terrible people who go around punching nobles and hurting poor innocent soldiers. Except the kids, maybe.

[.............................]

[WELLLLLLLLLL.....]

[YES.]

[ACTUALLY.]

[MAYBE.]

[A LITTLE.]

[HAVE SOME DEAD SILENCE.]

[FOR A LONG WHILE.]

Maybe.

[Ikki snorts at that. "Maybe". Apparently admitting it clearly was too much for the other guy.]

So this wasn't real curiosity or interest, just a way to assure yourself how evil we are and how much we deserve death. That no one but you, and maybe your crew, really fights for any valid justice?

Guess it doesn't matter then if we make it worse or not by killing those soldiers, since we're already judged and condemned.

Hardly.

I cannot abide the idea that everyone wishes to charge a bunch of navy soldiers simply because no one has even been able to discuss the truth with them! I can't stand that all of the discussions taking place seem to revolve around the idea of completely massacring a bunch of soldiers for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

You want to know my solution? Don't fight them. If you pirates [And yes, he pretty much spits the word] are so strong, then you should be strong enough to find a way to rescue people without killing anyone. That will send a LONG term, far reaching message that we are not all psychos hell bent on razing and destruction!

Or have you forgotten the very reason they decided to lock down this port in the first place?!

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[Voice] - is horrible to Smoker

[Voice] - XDDD a little

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