Just Gotta Keep Sailin The Quartz

[allendsmeat]

Who: Straw Hat Pirates, possible Bloody Roses Pirates
Where: Sailing log from 7/7- 7/10, Isla de Quarzo Rosa 7/10-7/12
What: The first leg of the race
Warnings: The usual
Status: Semi-open to the Bloody Roses.



Pls date your threads.

Bloody Roses, how close we're sailing is up to you guys though probably not enough to just casually swing over without some ability. However, feel free to come encounter us at any time on the island!

Straw Hats, enjoy the veggie rain! Also remember our NPC pirates are Mama's Bone Boys who will attack us intermittently throughout the journey and send spies on board. Let's save the major boss battles til the finale, though, shall we? But otherwise, have fun!

Comments

[letteropener]

Most of those have not been so bad.

[Most. They both know exactly which one Celestia considers to have been absolutely repulsive.]

I hesitate to tamper with those with magic because they have not been permanent, and I don't wish to cause greater problems.

[yourotherleft]

Permanent or not, it's still a pain in the ass. What if something like that happens right before someone attacks us, or a kraken decides we look tasty?

[letteropener]

Have any of those events actually swept up Luffy, yourself, Sanji, me, and Elsa simultaneously? [She can't think of any, and even the ones that engulfed the whole ship, such as the giddiness, had not impaired their capacity to fight.]

[yourotherleft]

[don't make him think, thinking is hard. He closes his eye and mulls it over for a while.]

If it hasn't...doesn't mean it can't happen.

[letteropener]

I haven't heard of any ship being confronted with such a problem -- and I think I am being realistic when I say that between all of us, we are the strongest crew on the seas. If weaker ones or ones without combatants have not been harmed so far... I think we might be able to say that these events are all part of a grand scheme.

[yourotherleft]

[Zoro nods, though he'd have to expect the Spades to be stronger, if only because he knows Ace, Marco, and Thatch to be on par with himself and Luffy.]

Not that it matters, since those things we can't do anything about...no sense moping about them. We can prepare for everything else.

[letteropener]

[Zoro. For shame. Do Elsa and Celestia have no place in your ranking?]

We can and we do. And I think you would spend your time training and practicing even if we had nothing else to worry about, wouldn't you?

[yourotherleft]

...well. Yeah. I need to stay in top form.

[even if he hasn't faced a real challege, Malihini notwithstanding]

[letteropener]

Why is that? For the sake of your own pride?

[yourotherleft]

[his hand unconsciously moves to caress the hilt of Wadou Ichimonji, near at hand]

For my goal.

[letteropener]

And that is...?

[yourotherleft]

To be the world's greatest swordsman.

[he glances her way with a bit of a smile]

I'm not there yet.

[letteropener]

Oh? Who could be superior to you?

{Celestia's surprise and doubt are genuine. She can't imagine anyone's skills surpassing Zoro's.]

[yourotherleft]

There's a few. I'm sure I've never even heard of or met the real challenges yet. They say the New World is hell compared to any other sea, so just surviving it will require greater strength.

[letteropener]

I find that very hard to believe. What could anypony do with swords that you cannot already do?

[yourotherleft]

[he looks at her again, and then away, up at the night sky]

A lot, I'm sure. It isn't always technique, either. Speed, strength, stamina, armament...

It isn't until I've faced every challenge that I can even think of calling myself great. You're only undefeated until you face defeat.

[letteropener]

It is a very, very large universe, you know. [How can he dream of facing everything possible as a challenge in it?]

[yourotherleft]

Mm. It's a big dream. I wouldn't settle for less.

[don't ask, Celestia. It just is.]

[letteropener]

And does that include all challenges, or simply challenges of swordsmanship?

[yourotherleft]

Well. It wouldn't do to run into an enemy who can actually kick my ass without swords and let them just defeat me. So I guess, all of them, yeah.

[letteropener]

Oh, only enemies are challenges, then? [If that's true, it explains a great deal, but how can he call himself the best with such strong friends around?]

[yourotherleft]

Well yeah. I wouldn't fight a crewmate. I could kill them.

[and he would rather die than do so]

[letteropener]

That's an interesting line of thought. So a friend might be superior to you and able to defeat you, but that wouldn't stop you from calling yourself the greatest if you defeated all the other challenges?

[Trying to work this out in her head!]

[yourotherleft]

Don't get me wrong - I don't want to be just the strongest person in the world. I want to be the greatest swordsman. And the only other swordsman in the crew is Brook.

[it's difficult to say out loud, but he's pretty sure he's stronger than Brook. The skeleton's techniques are pretty awesome but without muscle and sinew, can he even get "stronger?"]

[letteropener]

That I understand. But you did just say you couldn't call yourself the greatest if an enemy without swords could defeat you. So it is all right if a friend could potentially defeat you?