Posts made by blueblip

a) Only if Vanna White wears a bikini thong

q) Would he settle for Nami, though?

a) The Waver would kill the skis in a jealous rage.

q) If I ate Luffy, could I gomu gomu too?

One Piece politics is interesting…but ONLY for the shounen manga it is. As you say Greg, there isn't any real world type politiking going on in the manga at all eg. the WG doesn't implement sanctions on say, Wapol's country for his brutal tyranny etc etc. There is no real relation shown between islands such as we have heard nothing of trade between Drum and Alabasta. Both islands (all islands for that matter) seem completely idependent of each other. The WG seems to exist for the sole sake of being an anti-piracy body, and to allow 5 old sods to pop up at the end of an arc and say, "ZOMG Luffy is uber! INCREASE BOUNTY!!" (the Gorousei have never mentioned Dragon and his group even once). They are interesting in the sense that they are not wholly evil, which is different for a shounen manga because anyone aligned against the hero is usually billed as a villain.

With that said, there is the issue of good ol' Croc. He was probably the only person in the whole of OP to use politics as a weapon to any degree. And that's part of what makes him so interesting. He didn't just go around kicking people's ass with his mastered DF abilities. He used his DF to get people to love him and masterminded events so deliciously he sent the country into a brutal civil war. I have yet to see any other shounen character (OP ones included) do something like that. Compared to him, the WG is like a high school student government.

So, no, there is no 'amazing' politics being played in OP (minus Croc, but he was limited to his own ambitions so it doesn't really count). Good thread topic though.

Another thing you could add to cement Lust as representing lust is

! the punishment given to those who are sent to hell for it…they are thrown around by powerful winds and therefore can never control their direction. Which is similar to Lust, in that she seemed (IMO) to want to be free of control and live her own life. She basically died while still remaining Father's puppet (Dante's in the anime). That point was more emphasized in the anime rather than in the manga, as far as I can recall (I don't remember much of the FMA manga, haven't read the older chapters in such a while). But, just wanted to chip in my two cents, you know, to show how bitching awsome and smart I am ;)

On Topic: I highly doubt the SB represent a sin. The sins are meant to reflect day to day immorality in everyday living, and are commited by normal people. The SB are/were/are criminals anyways, so their representing any sin is pointless, because as criminals, they individually probably have commited all seven of them already. Look it…Croc has greed, murder, and pride (maybe lust as well) already, DonFlamingo has murder, pride, maybe wrath, Mihawk has pride and murder (sloth to an extant), heck, all the SB most likely have pride, murder, and greed attached to them.

It works in FMA because the Homunculies' characters are setup somewhat to represent each sin, and follow a defining sin characteristically (that didn't come out right sorry).

About me saying Nami has near non-existant skills, let me add something…"compared to the Strawhat Big Three." THAT should set the record straight :)!

A lot of people have already brought this up (curse them), but I'm going on and saying it meself...Nami, in the end, doesn't need to be able to have a fight with someone compareable to a completely serious Calipha. Her fights need never be serious. Her main function on the Strawhat crew is to make sure they stay alive at sea. Without her, the Strawhats would never have been able to get to Skypeia, or navigate to Whiskey Peak, or have been smashed up against Reverse Mountain. Make her a very capable fighter, even as good as Chopper, would unbalance her.

She just needs to be able to take care of herself in an extremely hostile environment. That's where her Climatact comes into play. Fata Morgana was a nifty technique, and with her knowledge of weather, Nami has as much fighting prowess as she needs.

@onemoment:

I have a theory, what if a really strong guy joins the crew? I mean, one guy who could concievably beat any of the SHs, like Robin and maybe Franky seemed at first. Probably an old, wise and experience fighter. Of course, he stays the same while the crew gets stronger, and still fights weaker opponents then the others just cause of chance.

Something like that. Like Kurama in Yuyu hakusho. He need gets stronger (outside of that demon thing) but stays deadly regardless.

Funny you brought up Kurama, 'cause I was thinking about the same thing right after posting that !!

The drawback to that is, like I said, character development. Unlike YYH, OP is not a fight based series, but a story and character based series. Look it, all the fights in OP always take place at the end of every arc. You have the odd scuffle in the middle, but everything is minor. The entire arc is always devoted to the plot and the characters. After each SH absorbs their needed lesson from the events around them, they go and fight their fights. So in such a case, Jimbei will most likely (but not necessarily, mind you) be a fully developed character…character...wise . He would relegated to sitting around waiting for his fight to come up at the end of each arc, and giving out his perals of wisdom on and off. Plus, which SH would actually listen to his wisdom anyways ^^?

But if Oda DOES make Jimbei join, he would turn out to be one of the most interesting character to ever show up in One Piece. I mean, the twist and depth required to pull something like that off and make it work would be astounding!

Well, of course he isn't. I still say Yosaku was talking in terms of physical strength, NOT overall fighting ability. He probably heard of a lot of strength feats. And like someone said, Arlong was quite the beast himself, but his actual combat skills sucked ass. Imagine if he could use Kiribachi with some acutal skill (he seemed to be slightly better than Luffy with swords :p). Jimbei might turn out to be Arlong with kickass fighting ability. Although, considering we just got over an arc involving physical fighters, I'm hoping Jimbei is more than just a brawler…if he actually fights, of course.

The problem with Jimbei joining would be that how can he get any stronger? I mean, all the Strawhats keeping going up, and up, and up. Jimbei, theoretically, ought to be at peak performance to be a Shichibukai. Plus, he will probably have almost complete character development. Adding Jimbei to the crew would not add anything other than more muscle, and by the looks of things, Franky's joining so…

Plus, we've yet to even see something apart from his name in print. God only knows if he has what it takes to be a SH.

Yeah, the Calipha battle was really weird (I keep thinking on how her thorn whip was made into a shigan whip). But how else could you write a fight with Nami beating a CP9 member? I mean, Calipha was the weakest bar Nero, but Franky had already taken care of that guy. Nami's opponents henceforth will have to be dumbed down if she wins a fight. The Perfect Climatact is a godly wepon, for sure, but when an opponent can reach you in an instant, or slash at you from a distance, anyone without similar physical capabilities would not be able to get the Climatact setup for attacking.

That said, she took, I think, 2 shigans and even blocked a rankyaku with the 'tact. Wasn't that bad a showing considering her fighting skills are nearly non-existant.

I'd rather believe that Oda is keeping Ussop in reserve, probably pulling out something in the next arc. Anyways, what would have beating Jyabura have done to resolve the whole Ussop problem anyways? Nothing really. We would have seen some fancy new moves ala Kabuto, said, "Wow that's cool!" and then have had to deal with Sanji fans whining that their character didn't get any fights in two arcs.

Ussop is not meant to be a fighter like Zoro, Sanji, Luffy, or even Chopper. You can't point towards Nami and say, "But hey, SHE got a fight and won, why not Ussop?" because honestly, that fight was not a real one. All Calipha did was act as an airhead, shigan Nami like 2-3 times (nowhere fatal, mind you), and forgot about soru, kami-e, geppou, and tekkai (her rankyaku hit the Climatact and Chopper). Also, what happened to her thorn whip? It became Shigan whip or something…lame. If Ussop fought Jabs under the same siutation, would you say he could take out a CP9? Obviously not.

There is such a thing known as building up suspense. We didn't get an Ussop fight this time. There is still plenty of OP left to go through, the idea that Ussop's character has become worthless, and will be denied any combat development hence forth is retarded. One arc, which was meant to develop Ussop as a character, NOT a fighter, doesn't mean his usefulness is at an end.

What I don't get is how is OHKOing Jimbei prove that Luffy a '300 million beri' man. With Bellamy, the point was highlighted because Luffy went from being a rookie to the next level (remember all the talk about how Bellamy was the top rookie etc etc?). Thus, OHKOing Bellamy showed that Luffy was now far and above the punk pirates, and was on his way to play with the big boys.

Taking Jimbei out in one hit at this point will not prove Luffy is worth his 300 mil, it'll just show that Jimbei is not fit to be a Shichibukai, that he is far weaker than he's been made out to be. It would do a-b-s-o-l-u-t-e-l-y nothing to show that Luffy's upped his game! I know my point sounds vague, but I just can't find a way to explain any better than this. I think it should…intuitive.

^The thing I liked most about the Skypeia Arc was that Oda let Ener loose without having him job! He setup Ener's character just so that he wouldn't have had to have Luffy face a full powered Ener, a fight I doubt Luffy could have won. Ener's God complex partly stemmed from the fact that no one had ever hit him in a fight. Then along comes Luffy and smacks multiple times, which makes Ener panick, and etc etc. Long story short, Ener's shock of being hit by a 'non-God' thre him of his game. ^_^

On Topic: What gaara d. lucci said.

I doubt Jimbei will actually be as strong as Arlong. I mean, there was a HUUUUUGE difference between Arlong and Croc, a Shichibukai. It took Luffy two pwnings to finally manage to (just barely) beat Croc, and even then that victory was more of a moral victory than a 'fight' victory. A popular idea is that Croc was the weakest of the Shichibukai. If that DOES turn out to be true (which I doubt a bit), then Jimbei will turn out to be a monster beyond Arlong. Even IF Jimbei is weaker than Croc, that in no way makes him weaker than Arlong, as Croc was, and will always, be a beast. So either way, Arlong will probably not compare too well against Jimbei, although it could very well be that their physical strengths match fine, but their overall combat abilities are far apart.

I always thought that Kuro's Shakushi was pretty damn fast, compareable to soru. But he didn't show much else in the fighting department other than awsome speed. Arlong is a much weaker Lucci without the speed, so Luffy would beat him without too much trouble now. Kreig…he was more gimmicky than powerful, so Luffy would beat him fine, plus tht armour wouldn't be useful as Luffy can break tekkai without gears ie. vs. Blueno (but I can't remember him breaking Lucci's tekkai without gears, or if he even managed a solid hit on the guy pre-gears). As for Buggy, I'm in the Buggy-will-be-back-much-ubered camp, so...

Croc and Ener will always be a tough fight, no matter how powerful Luffy will get. Croc has near perfect control of his ability, and I believe he didn't take Luffy seriously until he started using the poison hook. Plus, the record is in favor of Croc: two comprehensive wins, and one loss which can also be called a draw. Ener...is dubious. We never saw him fight seriously ever, even against Luffy. When Luffy started hitting him, he panicked and avoided him completely, so we have very little idea about his h2h, which wasn't shabby at all. Plus, I don't know if Ener's mantra would be effective against gear 2's speed.

EDIT: Correction on Arlong. He isn't physically weaker, but he is a brawler, and on a tier much lower than Lucci.

Soooo…how was that an AIRTIGHT bottle :wassat:???

My take on Gear 4:
Luffy finally gets to One Piece, but is guarded by none other than...PANDAMAN!! A brutal, bloody battle ensues. Pandaman was destroying normal Luffy, Luffy went Gear 2. It helped, but not enough. He goes Gear 3. He lands one gigant rifle, which hurts Pandaman bad. Then Pandaman gets mad, and fires lasers out of his heart shaped nipples. Oh noes :cwy:...Luffy doesn't stand a chance! But then, he thinks back to all that's happened, the effort made to get here, his nakama, Laboon, Shanks...and then...and then...

The problem is we really don't have much info on the Shichibukai, or rather, they are the most complex of the three powers, and yet are most important to the balance. Look it, the Marines' and Yonkou's affiliations are known. We can quite accurately predict how they would react to a situation. But the Shichibukai…we can't even agree on whether they have their crews or not. If they still stick to their crews/orgs, that would make them more like pirates than a neutral, apathetic group.

Personally, I think the whole balance thing only referred to each groups heads, seeing as technically, the SB have to give up on their crews for their position. So it would make no sense to say that & pirates, no matter how powerful, can be as strong as 4 of the most powerful pirate crews put together, and as strong as the Marines, an organization that includes possibly millions of soliders (think all across the Redline, Grandline, and 170 countries). So it most likely refers to 3 Admirials+Sengoku = Shichibukai = Yonkou. This also means each SB, when it comes to a one one one fight with any other Yonkou or Admirial, can defeat or be defeated.

About Calipha, you have to remember Enel never blew a hole through anyone in Skypeia. Nami's Thunderlance Tempo made a hole in Calipha's torso that was larger than a cannonball.

What suprised me was that Nami was the one who used the most brutal attack on any CP9 member, including Kumadori. He was just beaten to a bloody pulp (and in OP, that's easily survive-able).

a) There were multiple problems with the supposed querey that was put forth by you, Mr. It's a Lion. One, for example, was that your question evolved into a demand. Furthermore, on closer observation, it appears said demand is flawed as well, lacking the necessary exclamation marks thus making your demand a loud statement. It must also be noted that said demand is in violation of the demands of this thread, namely that it should be a question not a demand. The issue is further compounded by your asking a question in the sentence meant to function as an answer, thus negating the validity of your thread. Ergo, no answer can, or will be, forthcoming to your mis-question until said problems are rectified. Have a nice day!

q) Would eating Chopper be considered cannabilism, or venison?

a) Well, they ARE at sea level, so they can only go up from there (lol i u gave brain thingie hurt)!!

q) Is Kazuma going to hunt me down for that, and if yes, will he get me with a gomu gomu no rifle, Ussop hammer, or soap sheep?

a) Everyone walks with God, dontcha know…

q) Would Mary be quite as contrary on vearth fairy?

^They most probably can, otherwise why create a group that can't fulfil it's actual purpose, ie. being on equal footing with the Yonkou and Admirials? Of course, any one Yonkou has as much of a chance to beat any SB.

And this thread is about the THREE powers. Where do people think Aokiji stands relative to Shanks, WB, and Mihawk?

EDIT: Beaten by a geometric shape :(

Well, working with the idea that they'd get the same points…Lucci + Rumble Ball + Arm Point + Roukougan = ...oh my...

I doubt Oda would let it work with anyone but Chopper. Might have something along the lines of "since he is actually a reindeer and not a human" kinda thing.

@[URL=http://apforums.net/member.php?u=1632:

Phenomenol]The Shichibukai are GREAT pirates, they are great enough to be on EQUAL footing with your oh so precious "four Emperors." For the last time the Shichibukai do NOT work for the Government they are "allies of the Marines and the government."

I never have, and never will, say that no SB can match a Yonkou in a one-on-one fight. Power can mean a variety of things. For example, I might be able to beat George W. Bush in a one-on-one, but does that mean that if I try and start a fight with him, I'll win? No! I'll definately loose, because he has so much more to work with.

I request you re-read the rest of my post. For your conveinience:

IMO, it really boils down to the Shichibukai. They were created because the WG felt these pirates were major threats. They were recruited to bring about this balance which we love so much. By having the Shichibukai on their payroll and giving them their perks, this prevents these powerful pirates from siding against the WG. At the same time, this also almost removes any need for the Shichibukai to join up with the Yonkou. So really, it doesn't matter how strong either side is, what matters is that the Shichibukai are needed to maintain this balance. And it's a member down. Scary.

But to stay on topic, Marine=SB=Yonkou, IMO.

The way I was seeing 'power' was not in terms of 'Mihawk is teh storonjer tehen Shanks', rather as who can affect the balance the most. The answer? The Shichibukai. Imagine if the Shichibukai didn't exist, and Mihawk suddenly gets a whim, goes to WB and says, "I'll be a part of your crew, except that I want a x% cut of treasure" or something like that. Heck, WB isn't going to say no. Mihawk wouldn't even need to ask WB for permission, he could just say I'm joining, and that's that. Think how that would frigthen the WG. So they pulled out the most powerful pirates willing to work along with the WG. Plus, it's sounds kinda like the WG doesn't have much of a presence in the New World if 4 pirates are like emperors there. So now they can have the Shichibukai travel that area. It's like a see-saw. It doesn't matter how heavy the two weights on the see-saw are, because if there is no fulcrum, the whole will collapse anyways. See what I'm saying? Read the post completely before glorifing yourself.

^What Aldrich said. If they were really great, why not go to the New World and live like an Emperor, instead of (sort-of)working for the WG? I'm pretty sure that no matter what perks you get as a Shichibukai, those perks CAN'T be better than someone who has the lifestyle of an emperor.

IMO, it really boils down to the Shichibukai. They were created because the WG felt these pirates were major threats. They were recruited to bring about this balance which we love so much. By having the Shichibukai on their payroll and giving them their perks, this prevents these powerful pirates from siding against the WG. At the same time, this also almost removes any need for the Shichibukai to join up with the Yonkou. So really, it doesn't matter how strong either side is, what matters is that the Shichibukai are needed to maintain this balance. And it's a member down. Scary.

But to stay on topic, Marine=SB=Yonkou, IMO.

Yosh!

During the Enies Lobby Arc, Kokoro mentioned that no matter what the outcome, Luffy's name 'would be heard throughout the world' and I was all like , "awsome, so they're going to be major players in the world from now on!!"

But with the recent chapter(s), I've been getting the feeling that, while the SHs will be involved in major global events, they are going to be detached from it. Not following? Lemme put it this way.

In Alabasta, the Strawhats were at the epicentre of everything. They were the ones who took down Baroque Works and Crocodile, and supported Vivi all the way up to the Bomb, and basically prevented Alabasta from being torn apart. But despite all that, they were quite removed from the whole civil war, eg. Luffy, who wasn't really fighting for anything more than the fact Croc made Vivi cry. The SHs did what they did for Vivi, not for Alabasta. I mean, the whole thing could have just involved Vivi losing a lot of money to a crooked poker game in Rain Dinners, and if she was depressed enough about it, Luffy would have gone over to kick Croc's ass anyways (yes I oversimplified it, and no I didn't forget Kozha's father). But I hope you can see where I'm going with this.

Similarly, while everyone else was shocked by the attack on Enies Lobby, the the SHs, it was all about getting Robin back, political/social/whatever consequences be damned. And off late, we've been hearing about Dragon and his revolutionaries, and the balance of the three great powers, all of which seems to indicate powers are going to collapse and blah blah.

So, here's my question. How involved will the Strawhats get with all these events? It seems the further down the Grandline you get, the more you see are in touch with these various powers. Do you think the Strawhats will actively get involved with all these things, or will they just sail through it, not concerned? As of now, the answer seems to be 'no', but things can change, and I'm curious as to what people think.

Shanks' is badass. Badass to the point that even wood fears him…somehow :wassat:. Anyways, I say it's Shanks' special something, like CP9's roukshiki, or mantra, or Asura. Yeah, Asura! That came out of nowhere, and has probably gone back there! Ditto for Shanks and his spirit.

EDIT: People have said the same stuff already :sad:.

I doubt Zoro is 'teh uber swordzman' in this half of the Grandline at this point. And either way, that means nothing. He was the best in East Blue (while Mihawk wasn't around). Plus, there's Blackbeard's crew nearby, and if they have a swordsman in their group…

First off, let me rave about the chapter…

• WB meeting Shanks was awsome. Their weapons clashing blew clouds apart!!
• I finally get my fix of BB and Co. Loved them since their intro in Jaya. As for the upcoming fight with Ace, good thing the BB pirates have sacked the town. Plus, the WG should stop by and take notes for the Buster Call sake's, 'cause this fight'll probably show how island-busting is done right.

That done, I have a question. In the translation, I got the feeling that when WB and Shanks fought, the unknown speaker was referring to something else 'splitting the heavens.' That would make for a good excuse to break up the fight. "Hey Captain! Storm's coming, let's vamoose!" (and no, no Dragon, just an ordinary storm). Any translators willing to clarify please?

@Gamabounta:

You're facing ignorance, not political correctness.

In the end, you have to remember that most non-south and south-east asian people have almost no need to learn about Buddhism or Hinduism or Shintoism. Can you blame them? Not really. It's not their fault if these things don't interest them. Igorance is a bitch, but at least it isn't malicious, and you know that the manji and swastika won't be eliminated from the world. Don't let it bug you out too much.

It really is annoying, the bad rep the swastika is getting. The Nazi swastika is not even the original design. The original swatika is a mirrored manji (or vice versa, whichever came out first). Heck, the word 'swastika' itself is a Sanskrit word, with 'swast' = health and 'tika' = symbol/sign/mark. So literally, 'swastika' means 'symbol of health' and is meant to impart prosperous health on a person(s). People back home in India have this mark on their doors, in their houses, and in various auspicious places. It has absolutely nothing to do with what the Nazis did or what they stood for.

I'm willing to let most of these things slide. Let's face it, the avergage anybody who's not Indian just can't care enough to learn about my culture, much the same way the average Indian can give a rat's about any other culture. But when it comes to cases like the swastika, these symbols/concepts are known worldwide and people should be educated on these things. Ignorance in these matters makes things worse, especially a symbol such as this is used by multiple cultures worldwide.

EDIT: In retorspect, my rant turned out to be rather useless, as when I sat back and thought things over for a second or two more, I realized that it makes no difference to Oda's story. But anyways, I'll leave it up, since there are a few people who wouldn't know about the Hindu connection to the swastika. I'm a teacher!!!

About diamond (genuine question), if it can shatter on sufficient impact, why do they coat jackhammer tips with it? Wouldn't the diamond film/layer just get removed anyways?

And on the subject of diamond, while what you say might be true, I suspect, if he ever gives Zoro a diamond sword, he'll make it diamond the hardest substance next to kairouseki, cutting or bludegoning resistance be damned :p!!

Well, it was never brought up. Every D. that we were introduced to uptil this point have always had their full names mentioned and we were told they were D's. Luffy, Ace, Blackbeard (who's had less screen time than Brogy), Garp (it don't recall his name being mentioned at all on the coer stories and was only brought up recently with his proper introduction into the main manga), Saul…Dragon though is an exception. Besides, if Brogy was a D., there definately would have been a lot of fuss about it, no?

Plus, Brogy wasn't smiling, he was p**sed

@Yoyoi_kumadori:

I also agree that the "ancient civilization" was not pacifists,but where does it say that raftel is the ancient civilization?

It doesn't say that anywhere, but it's a common theory, and it is very plausible. After all, it IS a missing civilization, and only one person has ever been to Raftel. Personally, i think that it houses the Rio Poneglyph, which also happens to be One Piece.

The ancient civilization was probably a lot like the WG…except probably not as big. As people have already said, no benevolent civilization would create island busting weaponry, doesn't make sense. Heck, each weapon alone is supposed to be able to do what an entire Buster Call fleet does.

The problem is when you consider the scope and size of the WG, its not really possible to identify it with a moral standpoint. The organization is made of tens of thousands upon thousands of individuals, with a myriad of smaller groups and organizations within itself. The Marine, the Ciper Pols, each of the 180 countries (which themselves have hundreds and hundreds of orgs), and God knows what else (accounting, research, construction, media, blah). And don't forget it's jurisdiction extends to the Red Line as well. How can you pin down something as arbitrary has a moral standpoint for something this huge?

Furthermore, when you end up with something this big, you can't really run it along the lines of 'this action is good/bad/evil' anymore, simply because of the number of lives and things (financial or otherwise) at stake. It's possible to do so, but then again, nothing in our world comes close to the power the WG holds in the OP world (no, not even current America). Then remember, while all cultures have a shared core set of moral and ethical rules, morality depends heavily on where you're from. If the WG is composed of 180 countries, it would be very difficult to take an absolute moral standpoint without alienating some of its members. I mean, Wapol and Vivi's father are/were both members of the WG council, and they are moral opposites. They would never reach an agreement on an issue if they argued the moral and ethical ramifications of any action.

It think that's why the WG (and the Marines) have adopted the 'absolute justice' ideaology. They have a pre-written set of laws to which they adhere to and enforce, thus eliminating the need for moralization. That they leave to the various country rulers and individual citizens. Is it illegal and wrong for Wapol to hoarde a country's doctors all for profit? Not the WG's concern, as that is not an issue of law, but an issue of ethics. Also, it gives the WG the added plus point of staying out of an individual country's private affairs, thus avoiding any critisim about over-stepping it's authority.

Another mistake that is made is to compare the WG to a country. If anything, the WG is similar to our world's UN, albeit the WG weilds far more influence and power in the OP world. In our world, we use the UN as a forum for different countries to settle disputes through discussion (supposedly), and in overly serious national conflicts, as a global police force. Theoretically, the UN can send it's troops into any nation even against said nation's will, so long as there is a general consenus (not that this will ever happen). In any event, our current society allows the UN to act as a police force for the rest of the world. However, should an individual country such as America try to fulfil this role, it is met with a lot of hostility because we do recognize the right of any single country to decide what is appropriate or not for any other country. And before I get bashed, this extends to any country, England and the Faulklands, Bosnia, Nazi Germany etc. It doesn't matter how 'morally right' a government is at any time (meaning not just with reference to a single event, but it's moral compass in general).

Similarly, the WG attempts to police the world. But, unlike our UN, it is allowed more power and authority, mainly because the pinnacle power of the WG is composed of 5 individuals with no apparent affiliations except to the World Government alone, while the UN's in composed of 5 countries, each with an agenda for their country's benefit (naturally, nothing wrong with that…really). Since its influence and power is greater, it can take more drastic decisions, and execute them, such as in Ohara. Yes, some decisions (especially Ohara) are unnecessarily servere, but if it does abide by an 'absolute justice' credo, then by that way of thinking, Ohara was guilty of the WG's most criminal act. Applying morality to the Ohara incident (for an example) could have led to severe complications later. Most are what-if scenarios, "what if the Oharans are trying to revive lost weapons" or "what if an evil pirate sacks Ohara and learns how to read poneglyphs" etc., but that is how any government, country ir global, decides its policies, through what-if scenarios, or as they call it, predictions (colloquially called educated guesses).

So, no, the WG doesn't fall into the category of 'evil' as its actions have swung over the entire moral spectrum (the minute they heard of Arlong, they dispatched a ship, while Nezumi was at the same time accepting bribes). They are not even zealots (although there are individuals, like Spandam and Akainu), but they are sticking to a set of laws they developed, and which are accepted worldwide (we don't know of any countries that are anti-WG; all the opponents are individuals like Luffy and Dragon...and pirates in general). But what about the issue of corruption, you say? Well, for an organization to be corrupt, it would have to be evil, ne? Also, corruption is a very, very subjective/individual thing. The highest authorities could be clean as clean, but the low end reps could be corrupt to the bone, or vice-versa. So no, you cannot say the WG is corrupt as well. Plus, I really can't see the Gorousei (from what we've seen of them) taking bribes. they harp about absolute justice so much it'd be the most OOC thing that could ever happen.

EDIT: Is anyone acutally going to read this? I'd be sooo happy if you did :wub:. Cookies too.

My favourite forshadowing was when the Strawhats met Johnny and Yosaku. They dropped a whole lot of bounty leaflets, and Nami picks one up and starts shivering. I was dying to know who that was.

I doubt any of the SHs will pick up Roukshiki, even if Garp volunteers to train them. Plus, I highly doubt Garp would teach pirates, whether one of them his grandson or not, such powerful moves. Plus, Roushiki should be kept as a CP9/elite Marine moveset, though I honestly hope Coby doesn't learn more than soru and geppou, if he has to learn any other moves.

However, I feel that, other than CP9, no other Marine or WG group knows the complete set of roukshiki moves. There might be people who have learned some of the moves, but most likely not all. I mean c'mon, apart from soru, rankyaku, and shigan, none of the other moves will be of much use with the current SH upgrades. Tekkai can, and has, been broken, kami-e has been beaten, and most (if not all) of the Strawhats can dodge a rankyaku (even Nami managed to dodge Calipha's despite being all sopaed up). Shigan, maybe. Geppou wasn't used all that much offensively anyways, except by Lucci.

But the Strawhats will be blamed none-the-less for EL's destruction. The BC was called in to destroy them, which it didn't, but instead razed EL. Furthermore, the WG will probably look at the beaten CP9 and rescued Nico Robin as a sign of defeat, rather than a few buildings. So while they really did nothing more than survive EL and the BC, this survival is a defeat for the WG, symbolically.

^Yeah that's true. But I have a feeling Roger didn't squat on the Grandline like the others, whatever their reasons maybe. He seemed more of a wanderer type, to me at least. So maybe he didn't fall into the Yonkou category? It's an idea anyways, with nothing to back it up so nevermind.

But the 'closest to One Piece' bit might not necessarily be true. I mean, I never got the feeling Shanks was after One Piece. At the start, the way he talked of a pirate's life made it seem he's a pirate for that kind of a life itself. He also happened to be a powerful and driven person with a crew to match.

And while on the subject of Yonkou, it sounds like the Emperors are the prime power on the 2GL. How much influence does the WG hold there? It'd be interesting if that section of the world is controlled by the pirates, the various Blues by the Marines, and the 1GL/Redline by the Shichibukai. Power divisions in the OP world.

I doubt Luffy will be a Yonkou or Shichibukai, or rather, he'd never want to become one. We keep hearing about how if any of the three great powers are removed/disturbed/blahed, the current OP social structure will crumble.

Hey, guess what Luffy is going to end up doing? And we'll have some random ossan saying, "There was only one other person who tried to change the world…"

I'm annoying myself. What I mean to say is that Luffy, through sheer obliviousness to his world and surroundings, will end up toppling the OP world system, inadvertently achieving Roger's ultimate aim, and Dragon's current one. I'd find it rather interesting to learn that Roger was captured because the Marines and Shichibukai (maybe even some of the Yonkou), co-operated together to get him.

The Marines reasons are obvious. The Shichibukai seem to like their posts, the creature comfort and status that goes along with it, and so I think they'd like to keep it that way. Maybe some of the Yonkou decided that Roger's upsetting the global balance would hurt them as well, and so helped.

This is of course assuming the the Shichbukai and Yonkou existed in Roger's time in the first place. Maybe the Shichibukai was created for this reason? The Yonkou could easily have existed then (Whitebeard's still alive), as they are not really a power the same way the Marines and Warlords are. It's nothing more than the designation given to the strongest pirates on the 2nd half of the Grandline. This concept could have existed back then as well, and is just used as a way to refer to the most powerful pirates there.

Roger was the Pirate King and all, but against such odds?

I like the whole id, ego, and super-ego analogy, though I highly doubt Oda planned it that way. He never showed any signs of being a psychology buff before, so I doubt he'll throw it out now. Also, Freud can be used to explain a lot of things. Like Ussop for example.

There might be a grand theme to this whole OP world though. would be a nice tie in thing, believe it!

I know I'm being a turd, but I couldn't resist.

If 'D' stands for 'Dream', then that makes Dragon's name Monkey Dream Dragon. The thought made me lol for some obscure reason :S

Money Dream Dragon? Of course it does!

EDIT: On a side note, does anyone see Dragon having narcoleptic fits like Luffy, Garp, and Ace?

Aokiji could very well have a deep game going (lol, deep game…corny). But...

Ya see, Aokiji has been presented as a very...odd...character to us, ya see. On the one hand, the guy is an admirial, even considered the Marine's finest by some. This would mean he is a very intelligent individual (admirials are admirials for smarts and strength, ya see), and this could very well mean Kiji is capable of cunning plans, evil or good. Plus, to get ahead in an organization like the Marines, and thrive, means he can play politics very well. I doubt he coasted to the top. We have seen more than enough corrupt Marines, and surely there are some at the top who would try and block/promote others for their own benefits. So he can also manouvoure himself quite well, politically, and can probably hide his motives the way Croc did. BUT...that is quite contradictory to the character we have seen. What we have seen is a laid back easy going guy. He's of the decent sort, and very much came of (initially) as a "what you see is what you get" type of person. Furthermore, he has shown compassion, which would make his playing games of any sort contrary to his nature.

Personally, I'd say he has some sort of plan in mind, but it won't be anything huge like Croc. Unless more is revealed about him, I'd say he's too lazy and straight forward to bother with concocting schemes.

EDIT: Ya see...?

a) He was nothing more than Wanze's sub-ordinate.

q) Was T-Bone rare or medium-well?

a) In a sewer somewhere

q) Would Ussop be more successful as a woodpecker?

a) When all the clocks in the OP world stop working, the event will shock Luffy so much he'll exclaim "Sugei" for so long, he runs out of breath and dies, thus making it 'untimely'!! Ah…ah...ah...ah...ah!

q) Is there a hell for people who make bad jokes?

My prediction is that Buggy is going to finally meet up with Luffy, Whitebeard, and Shanks on Raftel. There is going to be a free-for-all between the pirate crews on the island to get to One Piece. I say this 'cause when you stop to think about Buggy's DF and if he trains it to the extent Luffy is training his, Buggy has one helluva DF ability. Near logia type control anyone :p ?

Buggy has enough kutzpa to make a major villian. He certainly has the required evilness.

One thing to note…Lucky Roux isn't the fat slob he looks like. I think a databook listed him as the fastest man on the Grandline, so...

The greatest crew at this point is probably Whitebeard's. I mean, the guy has a freakin' armada!! And Whitebeard is no slouch himself. He tied with Roger after all, and people like Blackbeard and Ace are his subordinates. He has everything pointing towards him. I like Shanks and all, but I can't see a crew better than Whitebeard's.

And as for Kiji and Ace, it depends on how hot Ace can get. Aokiji can't freeze fire, but if his cold is intense enough, he can shut down Ace's fire. And I like to think Aokiji can freeze near absolute zero ^^. I mean, he can freeze an ocean for a good week.

^Lol to that. Fun much, that would be. Sadly though, Zorohas shown no agility close to Mugen and Jin :(. He has speed, but isn't one for quick dodging and stuff.

And Mihawk will use his Big Black Beast ;) on Zoro, for nothing else than out of respect. But I have a weird feeling that Mihawk will actively search out Zoro when he thinks Zoro is ready. He is following Zoro's progress closely, and I think Mihawk just wants a challenge.

EDIT: And oh yeah, if Mihawk runs into Zoro before Zoro can take him out, Mihawk WILL kill Zoro, because he would disappointed in Zoro. Forgave him once, but not twice, will he?

Never heard anyone diss Croc in AP Forums before. The people here are a sensible bunch and they know Croc is no pushover.@Ivotas:

So nope in One Piece it most definitely is not Crocodile<enel<lucci. it="" is="" kuro="" krieg="" arlong<crocodile="" enel="" lucci.<="" blockquote="">QFT, for the most part. There was a thread earlier on Kuro vs Bellamy, and I think Kuro was favored. But then again, Bellamy wasn't an arc boss, so I guess he doesn't figure in here. And I think Arlong and Kuro take on a lower tier CP9 agent. Arlong is horribly strong, and Kuro with his speed could keep up with CP9 agents and hit them before they could tekkai. Maybe. Not sure.

Anyways, back to Croc. How can you NOT love a villian of his calibre? I mean the guy:
1. Sowed dissent in an entire country, and swayed public opinion against the ruler. And this isn't some crap-ass Wapol style ruler. He is a highly respected, benevolent, wise king who was liked by the general populace. He engineered so much hatred that he was able to start an extremely brutal civil war.
2. While manipulating the country's people, he made himself the hero figure in their eyes. He made them love him and not their king. He was screwing them over in plain sight, more or less, and they still adored him.
3. While doing 1 and 2, he was running his massive bounty hunter organization, hiding his identity of Mr. 0 from Alabasta, the Marines, the Gorousei, and the Shichibukai.
4. He had a casino basement filled with gigantic crocodiles.
5. He had a freakin' casino!
6. He did all that, and still stayed pimp. He had bling, he could create a desert with his right hand, and he laughed something awsome.

I like Enel, he was an awsome evil dude, but I have never felt as much satisfaction from seeing an OP villian getting beaten than when Luffy demolished entire city blocks to send Croc flying into the air, beating him completely (Spandam doesn't count as he hasn't been beaten yet).</enel<lucci.>