Chapter 109: Marineford 99

Sitting at a large table and eating with normal sized utensils, Bill looked at the large man across from him. Standing at nine-feet-tall and being well proportioned, he found it somewhat awkward to eat with regular sized silverwares.

But still, as the man across from him was even larger than he was, he didn’t make a fuss and ate one small bite at a time.

Sengoku was now no longer wearing his seagull hat or uniform, though the Coat of Justice still hung off his shoulders, the plate in front of him was tiny by comparison and the food on it had been portioned up neatly.

Nothing touched anything else, the greens stayed separate from the carrots and the carrots never contacted the meat.

On Bill’s part, he was eating a bowl of meaty stew and had ripped up the dinner roll to mix it in. He wasn’t eating in haste, but Bill liked the extra body that the bread gave the dish and wasn’t so particular about how it looked to others.

They stayed that way until they were almost done eating, and it was Sengoku who broke the silence.

“You can tell a lot about of person by how they eat.” Said he, and Bill didn’t agree with this but decided not to respond.

Then, putting down his fork, Sengoku looked at him and asked: “Tell me, what made you join the Marines?”

Looking up from his bowl, Bill also put his spoon down and answered truthfully.

“Nothing made me do it, but you see, when I learned about the things that some people could do, I felt like I had to be able to at least do some of those things myself.

I guess, I just thought it would have been irresponsible for me not to get stronger.”

Pausing for a second, he thought about what to say and then continued: “Of course, at that point I was little and hadn’t been exposed to anything close to what was coming…”

Then Bill explained the situation revolving ‘Fruit Ninja’ and how when Fia ate that Devil Fruit it opened up a new reality to him.

“I worked hard before then, but at the same time always knew that I was getting stronger and faster than the others. By the time I was eight I was already as strong as many grown men and a good deal faster to boot.

Uh, but I didn’t think it was all that strange, my parents were so much bigger than everyone else that I thought it was just natural… but when she ate that fruit and was automatically given that enormous power… I…”

Crossing his arms, Bill considered how to phrase what he had felt at that time: “I just felt like I had to see the world, and I knew that not many other people either had the natural benefits that I had or could just randomly get an ability.

I suppose, after I saw her mouth turn into a literal cannon, I thought it wasn’t enough for me to just get stronger for myself. I had to get stronger for other people too.”

Nodding his head to himself, Bill thought back all those years ago and didn’t regret the choice he made.

When he finished speaking, a small spread over Sengoku’s face and he nodded as well.

After he did that, Sengoku rang a bell and three women dressed in maid uniforms came in to remove the plates and silverware. Bill could eat his own body weight, and so one bowl of stew didn’t fill him up, but he wasn’t so hungry to stop them.

Once the dishes were removed, Sengoku stood up and motioned to the couches on the other side of his office and said: “I see, good, that’s understandable. Now, young man let’s not talk as superior and subordinate.”

Nodding his head again, Bill gave an ‘alright’ and followed the Fleet Admiral over, sitting down across from Sengoku, Bill crossed his right ankle on his left knee and leaned on the armrest.

Giving him a look, Sengoku laughed and said spiritedly: “Tell me, what does Justice mean to you?”

Bill: “The word? Well, justice is the idea that people should get what they deserve.”

Sengoku: “So would that mean justice is the reward that someone gets when they tried hard at something and are successful?”

Bill: “Yeah, pretty much.”

Sengoku: “Hm, but if I cheat you and don’t get caught, that means I succeeded, so should I be rewarded?”

When Sengoku said this, Bill shooed away the idea with a hand wave and said: “Now you’re just playing word games, Fleet Commander. You asked me a general question and then narrowed down the idea to a specific point in a single sentence.”

Laughing at this, Sengoku sat back into the couch and said: “True enough, but the idea holds doesn’t it?”

Bill: “No.”

Sengoku: “Why not?”

Giving a small laugh of his own Bill replied simply: “Because cheating in the way you said, is lying, and lying is a Sin.”

Giving Bill a raised eyebrow, Sengoku shifted and said: “A Sin? I didn’t realize you were religious.”

Bill: “It’s not about religion, it’s just the human condition.

If every time we met I filled your head with lies, then eventually you would no longer meet with me. I may have succeeded in the short term by lying but would have sabotaged myself in the long term since I can’t live alone.

Humans are communal creatures, and Sins are those things that break that community down.”

Sengoku: “That definition seems too broad, and if that was the case, then societies would never change and would just stagnate.”

Shaking his head, Bill replied: “I called it the human condition, not the societal condition.”

Sengoku: “Societies are made up of people, so aren’t they the outcrop of what you call the human condition?”

You are reading story The Marine Part One at novel35.com

Bill: “Societies vary wildly depending on a bunch of factors, but humans tend to be roughly the same everywhere. We are all one species after all.”

Seeing that Sengoku wasn’t following his logic, Bill continued: “So figure it like this. Humans all have the same bottom line, we can’t tolerate things like murder, malicious lies, and theft. At the same time, we need things like love, hope, and a sense of personal value. The actions that disrupt this lowest level are Sins.

But the situation humans find themselves in will not be the same everywhere, and that will obviously shift the higher order societal values. Those societal values must change because the situation will inevitably change.”

Nodding his head, Sengoku thought for a second before asking: “Then what role would you say that justice plays in a situation where humans remain the same but where society must change?”

Bill: “At the societal level, justice is everything, without justice there would be no society in the first place.

Back to your earlier question, why is it unjust for a cheater to be rewarded for succeeding? Well, the answer is simply because if everyone became cheaters, they would destroy everything in selfish pursuits, and destroying everything is bad for everyone.”

Thinking about this for a moment, Sengoku said: “I like that, but I don’t think it’s right, I think it’s too simple. You said that all humans have the same bottom line, isn’t that right?” and after seeing Bill nod to this Sengoku continued: “but that’s where you’re wrong.

Captain, there are monsters born to human parents.”

Bill didn’t immediately respond to this and waited for the Fleet Admiral to collect his thoughts.

“Some you can see plainly, they’re misshapen and awful, born with huge heads and tiny bodies or with too many limbs and mouths all in the wrong places. They’re no one’s fault, just… accidents…” Then Sengoku paused before continuing again.

“And if there are born physical monsters, wouldn’t there be born mental monsters too?

Those people who look entirely perfect on the outside, but if a damaged egg can lead to physical deformities couldn’t there also be some missing gear or offset cog that causes mental deformities?

If a child can be born without a leg, couldn’t one also be born without kindness?”

Bill agreed with this sentiment, even if Sengoku didn’t have the language for it, he knew about psychopaths. After saying he understood where Sengoku was coming from, the Fleet Admiral continued: “I do believe that you’re right about those ethical bottom lines that all normal humans have, but I’m also sure you underestimate the prevalence of those mental monsters I’ve spoken about.

These monsters are all variations from the accepted ‘normal’ to a greater or lesser degree, and that is why the Marines exist. That girl you mentioned, Fia, who ate the Canon Canon Fruit, what would have happened if she were one of those monsters?

What if someone like yourself was one of those monsters?

Despite everything, all of our flaws, all of the abuses, we uphold Justice against the world of those monsters. Do you understand what I’m telling you?”

So far in his life Bill had experience with kidnappers, murderers, and all sorts of pirates. Though he knew that bad eggs did exist he had chalked up much of the bad due to economics, coming from Earth, it was normal to suspect the route of a career criminal starting from a single small crime and ending in brutality.

However, now he began to consider the differences of the two situations.

On Earth, the most brutal man ever to walk would still lose to five capable men. Physics was just not on the side of the single powerful person. In this world though, you didn’t have to have anything more than a mediocre person by Marine standards and they could hold the life and death of an island in their hands.

Bill: “Well, then I guess you’re saying it’s all about mitigation. That’s your Justice.”

Sengoku: “That IS Justice. I have ordered awful things, but always in the knowledge that I’m choosing the lesser of two evils. Those monsters…”

Bill: “Let me ask you a question, Fleet Admiral.” Bill said as he adjusted himself in his seat.

“Say I have a button, and this button will either end all crime or it will kill everyone in the world.

Say I push the button, and it ends all crime.

Now, I’ve ended all crime, but was I justified in doing that?”

Answering with a wide smile, Sengoku replied: “Now Captain, who’s playing word games? But of course, the answer to your question is that you would not be justified in pressing the button.

In that case, if you have no other information, pressing the button would be too terrible to consider.

However, it’s important to understand that once you have a reasonable amount of information, tough choices become necessities. Sometimes, you get it wrong… but the alternative…”

Then Sengoku breathed heavily, and Bill wondered what he was remembering.

Sengoku: “With the ability you demonstrated yesterday, and the capability of capturing the traitor Marine Gasparde, I believe your father has greatly erred by hiding you from me.”

Just as Bill was about to protest this claim, as Sengoku had previously told him that they weren’t speaking in terms of their ranks, the Fleet Admiral raised his hand and said: “I don’t blame him for it. After what happened to your mother, and the fact that you were his only son, I truly don’t blame him as a father for protecting you.

But as a Marine, he made a great mistake.”

Then leaning forward, Sengoku continued.

“You were able to nullify my Awakened Fruit, even though you were completely unable to move while you did so, the fact that you could do it, is incredible. Most people don’t try to nullify, not even Garp or myself try, it takes too much effort when we could just break through defenses within the moment of the strike.

But, what this clearly means is that you can break through the powers granted by the Devil Fruit…

I’ll cut to the chase. Captain, in the coming years we plan to set up a new Secret Special Force. We’re setting the foundation for this force now.

This secret force will be dubbed SWORD, and I want you to join it.”