“I say, don’t stare like this, don’t you have something to say.”
Ross lowered the knife and fork and took the teacup next to him and took a sip, he looked at Tashigi who hadn’t spoken yet.
Tashigi forcibly calmed her mind and finally stepped back from her trembling state. She clenched her finger on the hilt of her sword and said:
“That kind of question… has nothing to do with me!”
“You are Ghost Hand Ross! Even if you are the Strongest in the world … I will arrest you!”
As if she had gathered her courage, as she shouting this sentence, Tashigi slashed at Ross with her sword and she even couldn’t help but close her eyes when she attacked.
A sword fell.
She did not feel her sword strike anything.
Startled, she opened her eyes again and saw Ross still sitting there eating and doing nothing else.
“This is … What’s the matter …”
Even if her sword doesn’t cut Ross, it should cut the table. Why didn’t her sword cut anything? !!
Tashigi looked at the sword in her hand and couldn’t help but hesitate.
“Arrest me?”
Ross forks up a carrot and puts it in his mouth. “It’s an extremely difficult thing to do, even more difficult than being the World’s Number One Swordsman.”
When Tashigi hears Ross’s words, her dazed eyes suddenly freeze and she seems to have renewed her faith and fighting spirit and she attacked with her sword again.
Sii!
The sword passed through Ross and the table.
The picture is exactly the same as before as if Ross sitting in front of her is just a phantom, the blade cannot cut any substance at all.
Tashigi has a stunned expression on her face and she continued to wave her sword frantically, but she could not even cut off the corner of the table and the blade passed through everything as if everything in front of her was illusory.
“I say, why do you want to arrest me so much? Because you’re Marine?” Ross sat there motionless and asked casually.
Tashigi’s intense breathing is not due to her stamina loss, but it was because of her shock, disbelief, and various other feelings she was feeling in the face of Ross’s unknown powers.
When she heard Ross’ question, she could not help but grit her teeth and responded: “I’m Marine, I naturally want to arrest all pirates …”
“Oh.”
Ross gave an understatement and said, “What is the definition of Marine and Pirate? Does a person become a pirate just by hanging a skull flag on their ship? Those who don’t hang the flag but burn and rob others, aren’t they pirate?”
Tashigi has never debated any issues such as this, or maybe it was because of her little Sergeant Marine position as she simply cannot reach such a point.
What is a Marine?
This kind of problem is understood and considered by Marine Admiral. Marine below Admiral does not need to consider so much at all, they only need to obey orders.
Ross’s words left her in a state of confusion and the thoughts in her head were turbulent, and she couldn’t help saying: “What banner they fly is not the key.”
“Oh.”
Ross responded again as he put the last piece of meat in his mouth and took the handkerchief and wiped his mouth, and said, “Then you who is holding the Marine flag and defending the rights of Tenryubito, and protecting and extorting the ‘Heavenly Tribute’ from all over the world. What are you?”
Tashigi froze.
This sentence can be said to have pierced her heart and it instantly tore apart her so-called justice that was not so firm.
Yes, the flag is not the key. Burning and looting is the key. Marines maintain Tenryubito’s law and enforce Heavenly Tribute compulsory collection worldwide. Countries that do not pay Heavenly Tribute will be punished. Is this any different from a pirate?
At this moment, Tashigi is in a trance.
Thud!
The blade in her hand could no longer be held and it just dropped to the ground.
She has long been ready to die for her beliefs and she will never retreat even if she dies, but when she finds that the beliefs she is holding out are meaningless, the war between her determination to hold on to her beliefs in her heart was like melting ice and snow, and they would never exist again.
She stilled for a moment and after some time, she fell to the ground with blurred eyes and various voices were constantly speaking in her mind.
“…”
Ross lowered the handkerchief in his hand and stood up before glancing at Tashigi.
Bang!
Just then, the wall on his left side was suddenly smashed.
Countless pieces of gravel were splashing around and he saw Smoker flew over and hit his back against the wall on the right.
Smoker’s strength is very good. The Marine Captain rank is too low for him but he is not as good as those elite Headquarters Vice-Admirals.
And even those elite Headquarters Vice-Admiral may not be able to beat the current Robin.
Which of the main cadres of the Yonkō (Four Emperors) Pirates would be weak.
“Tashigi!”
There was a trace of blood on the corner of Smoker’s mouth as he hit his back against the wall. After stabilizing his body, he saw Tashigi lying on the ground.
However, he yelled at Tashigi, but Tashigi didn’t respond at all, and she was still sitting on the ground with glossed eyes.
At this time.
Smoker finally noticed Ross and his face changed dramatically.
“You are … Ghost Hand Ross!”
Ross didn’t respond and he just stood there calmly.
Smoker glanced at Ross and then he looked at Tashigi, whose eyes were glossed over and she looked to be in a trance, he gritted his teeth and asked, “What have you done to Tashigi?!”
Ross answered casually: “I did nothing, I just asked her what it means to be a Pirate and what it means to be a Marine. I thought she was kinder, so I just talked casually.”
“You baste…”
Smoker gritted his teeth and tried to curse but he stopped himself forcibly.
No matter how arrogant he is, he also knows the gap between himself and Ross. It is a gap that cannot be crossed at all and he can’t even deal with Robin next to him.
“Let’s go.”
Ross glanced at Robin as she walked in.
Robin didn’t even look at Smoker either and instead glanced at Tashigi and looked at Ross again.
Ross said oddly, “Think what I’m doing.”
Robin showed a thoughtful gaze and followed Ross out of the shop.
Smoker watched Robin and Ross leave, his fists clenched, but he still didn’t dare to do anything. As for the Marine gathered around, they didn’t even dare to come forward and they just watched Ross and Robin leave.
“Tashigi, how are you?”
After Ross and Robin left, Smoker took a deep breath then looked at Tashigi sitting on the ground again and asked
Tashigi gradually recovered from her state. She was silent as she picked up her fallen sword and put it in the scabbard and stood up while saying:
“I’m fine, Captain Smoker.”
“That’s good.”
Smoker breathed a sigh of relief, it seemed that Ross really just asked questions and he didn’t attack Tashigi.
Tashigi lowered her head and remained silent for a while, and said, “I’m a bit tired, Captain Smoker. Can I go back to rest earlier?”
“Go ahead.”
Smoker took a look at Tashigi and saw that she seemed to have been hit hard emotionally and said, “That guy was Ghost Hand Ross, he is not a character you can handle now. It is normal for you to lose in his hands, and it is already quite fortunate that we got to keep ou lives with us.”
“Ok.”
Tashigi nodded, absent-minded.
Smoker could only shake his head when he saw this. He thought it was Tashigi’s defeat to Ross that made her took a big hit, and he didn’t care.
Failure is not terrible. Only the real strong people would have the power to come out of failure and become even stronger. Even Ross has been defeated and has been put in Impel Down and he got out and become a Yonko.
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Ross, asking the real questions. There’s no denying there are really evil pirates. Or that there are marines who truly want to do good. But the definitions they World Government lays out are too black and white, and have nothing to do with morality.
To say it broader, the WG is responsible for the creation of most pirates.
Once they crackdown on a country the citizen in it will be forced to choose
between a misrable life inside, which often leads to enslavement,
or a chance outside, which more often then not leads to becomming pirates. And since there are plenty success storys like Gol D. Roger
or Edward Newgate it becomes a vicious cycle.
Nice
what a miracle, u actually aint salty here