Chapter 78: Fanatical Zealotry
Lafitte bowed and kept a strange smile on his face as he said "Not a problem~! You will not be disappointed, I can assure you!" He seemed to be a doll, his expression wooden and unchanging, different from Galan, his almost seemed drawn on.
Hancock was sufficiently creeped out.
Lafitte skipped and jumped, disappearing out the window in a flash, just like the way he came in.
He was a ghost in a moment.
Galan watched him go and sat back down, smiling "Now then, have we agreed?" the meeting lasted a bit longer before they were done. The shadow person watched Galan leave with the Warlords before turning around and leaving themself, saying "Keep an eye on him, I don't like that puppy."
The 5 Elders were compliant, "Yes, Lord Im."
Galan was far enough away from Mariejois and he started frowning, looking back at the Red Line. He narrowed his eyes and muttered "Strange." Olvia was confused and he shook his head, saying "Must've been my imagination." Olvia smiled at him and continued reading.
Galan turned around and his face went expressionless, so there was someone new? This is a big issue. He hadn't planned for a leader behind the scenes. He needed to revise some plans.
He narrowed his eyes slightly, most likely the Cleansing Blues plan will be forced back… If this happens, he was in trouble. The person watching him didn't trust him and that was an issue…
There was no need for Olvia to be wrapped up in this.
This chessboard only accommodated two people.
But for now, he had a bigger issue.
Jinbe was sitting in the cabin and Galan walked in, saying flatly "Arlong, start speaking." as he covered every inch of the cabin and ship with his Observation Haki, not finding a bug.
He was a bit relieved. It seemed his acting was enough. He didn't have such a suspicion on his head at the moment, however he didn't know who this person was or what they were like.
He was waving his hands in the dark like a child.
He could only hope that his act had mustered enough merit in the 5 Elders' eyes that they weren't so convinced of the suspicion. However, Galan was sure of one thing, whoever this person was, they were above the 5 Elders.
From 5 sensations watching him to 6, then only 1 as the other 5 disappeared.
Galan theorized that when Lafitte showed up the 5 Elders were going to do something, after all this guy just infiltrated Mariejois, he was a threat! However, at this moment all the sensations disappeared from them and the person was with them.
Clearly, they knew who this was. And if it was just a normal subordinate, why would they take away their Observation Haki? It was unreasonable. Therefore the only option must be that they were subordinates to this person.
It was unbelievable.
The people Galan had been acting like a dog for were just the subordinates of this new person, however it was a good foundation for him to work with. He could start there, not letting them know he knows. Whatever they tell him to do, he will do. The person behind them is already suspicious.
If they're a radical, then he was in danger. He could fight many people, but he couldn't fight the World himself. Hence, treading water right now. One mistake and he'll drown.
However what he couldn't figure out was why would they let Lafitte live.
Galan was more than happy to kill the mime. But he didn't because he could feel that the 5 Elders didn't seem to care. It was simply impossible for this to happen if they wanted him dead.
Was this a test?
Did he pass or fail?
Galan wasn't sure.
Sounded like he was lost in thought, however all of this happened in a second as Jinbe started talking, sighing "I didn't know this would happen. At the time, I was more concerned with the status of Fish-Man Island. I even returned to my post as Kingdom Guard!"
Galan forgot about his problems and looked at Jinbe frowning "Arlong enslaved an entire series of Islands, killing who knows how many in 8 years. Countless marines and innocents, even a woman whom I had the joy of sailing with!" Jinbe couldn't say anything, he just bowed deeply, saying "I'm sorry, Big Bro Galan. I didn't think this would happen! However, it is still my fault. I should've been responsible for all Fish-Men."
Galan looked at Jinbe and thought about it. In truth, he should've killed the evil Fish-Men. The problem was at the time, Arlong had left the ship and got captured by Borsalino while Galan was talking with Jinbe and Fisher Tiger.
Not only this, but he couldn't even kill the dirty Marines because he didn't want the Fish-Men getting blamed for it. It was too tricky, Fish-Men escaped but the Marines were dead, even a rock would think it was them.
Galan didn't care about race but he wasn't an evil person. Dooming the Fish-Men like this, he couldn't do it. He couldn't really even kill the Fish-Men either because they would go on to hate Humans even more which would lead to more attacks and friction in the future.
This was a problem.
The Fish-Men were unreasonable and the Humans hated them out of fear.
Both parties were at fault in Galan's opinion. There were giants and Devil Fruits, people could turn into animals and do all sorts of things, but you're scared of fish people? It didn't make sense.
And the Fish-Men… Is it hard to have a backbone? Just fight back. You don't have to kill everyone, train and become a strong man, then you can make the rules and people won't mess with you. But all of them have this irrational fear of Humans, in some aspects Arlong is right.
Fish-Men are much stronger than Humans, why should they be scared? However this thinking was very dangerous because it can lead to what he did later. The key is to find a balance.
What Jinbe was doing was basically useless. Galan had seen more Fish-Men and Mermaids being captured as slaves and sold to Nobles. He wasn't doing anything but he seemed to think it was fine.
Galan didn't want to act like his father because it wasn't his place, but he was still not happy with the unfolding events regarding Fish-Man crimes, "Your way doesn't work, Jinbe. You can't control all Fish-Men. I should've killed Arlong and his racist group when I was on your ship."
Jinbe was silent and Galan went on, "You should be working to help the people. Not only Fish-Man and Humans, but other races too. You're not the only group that is discriminated against. There are trafficking rings for every race. Your crimes are sanctioned, use that to your advantage. Kill slave traders and kidnappers, kill the criminals. I can only do so much."
He snorted and added, "Not to mention, I've been buying Fish-Man slaves myself." Jinbe was stunned and looked at Galan in shock, saying with a hint of rage "Why?!" Galan looked at him expressionlessly "How else will I get Fish-Men in the Marines? It's the easiest way. I go and buy the slaves before killing everyone involved. I have several special units of Fish-Men. Your thinking is too small. Look at the bigger picture, what's the problem with Fish-Men?"
Jinbe frowned, "Humans hate us." Galan nodded and explained "Arlong was out of your hands, but his actions led to several islands of Humans hating him. What do you think happens now? Their children grow up hating Fish-Men, and they pass it down to their children. Over and over again, Racism is like an infectious disease. Eventually it doesn't become a disease anymore but something normal."
Galan waved his hand and said indifferently "Born and bred in racism for generations, they will start to believe that Fish-Men are just evil. No reason why, never been hurt by them, they just know that they're evil. A Fish-Man can be the savior of the world but they won't care, Fish-Men are evil so whatever they do must be evil."
Jinbe was stunned and started sweating as he replied "Bu-But this… This is impossible to fix!" Galan nodded and retorted "So?" Jinbe was stunned, repeating "So?" Galan said flatly "Being racist isn't a crime. Thinking Fish-Men are evil isn't either. The thing you don't understand is your moral mission is impossible."
He shook his head and continued "Otohime was an extremely kind woman, too kind. She wants to live in the sunlight, this isn't unreasonable. Who would want to live in the dark sea? But the problem is she wants to love humans and have them love Fish-Men back. This is impossible. It's a problem that can't be solved. There is no solution, but there is a cure."
Jinbe looked at Galan and seemed to understand, "Justice?" Galan nodded and replied "Yes. Being an asshole isn't a crime. Acting on your asshole beliefs, with malicious intentions on innocent people, is. Everyone in the world can hate Fish-Men to the core, but if nobody hurts you, where's the difficulty in living on the surface? Unfortunately, this task is a long and arduous one. Nearly impossible as well."
Jinbe sighed sadly and Galan shook his head, adding "Which is precisely why you shouldn't give up. As long as there's evil in this world, Justice will accompany it. There will always be people willing to jump into the abyss and kill the monster that lurks at the bottom."
He spread out his hands and said expressionlessly, "The world without evil is a beautiful one. A world where you can let children play outside without worrying if they'll be kidnapped. A world where you don't have to worry about being enslaved. A world where nobody has to suffer from ash and fire. Maybe your Fish-Men can't be loved by everyone, but so what? Isn't living in such a world, under the light of the sun, a good thing?"
There was an inexplicable excitement in his tone, extremely subtle, but barely noticeable! A fierce almost fanatical tone of excitement.
Jinbe couldn't hear it, but he was interested in the world Galan described. He smiled to himself and said "I would like to live in such a world." Galan nodded and put his hands down, replying "Then actively work to make the world a better place. This disgusting thing called evil, it has no place in the world. It's a scourge. It brings only pain and suffering with it, there's nothing it can do for good. It creates monsters and demons, spreading like a plague."
He clenched his fist, adding "This so-called 'Necessary Evil' it's all bullshit. Good doesn't need evil to exist. Helping a neighbor is good. Carrying bags for old people is good. The 'Evil' that needs to exist for us to understand what 'Good' is, is bullshit! And I'll burn it all to the ground. Every piece of the Abyss. I'll burn it all."
He looked down at Jinbe and finished "Think about what you wish for the future to be, Jinbe. When you figure it out, act on it." before walking out of the cabin, adding "Get off my ship."
Jinbe frowned, he knew that Galan was a bit nuts but that was an understatement. This man was fanatical about justice and Jinbe didn't know if it was such a good thing to be so passionate about these types of things.
He was just a humble Fish-Man, who knew a bit of this and that, not a philosopher. He wasn't smart like Vegapunk, nor tactful like Galan, nor insidious like the World Government. He just wanted his people to have a happier life…
Jinbe seemed to come to a conclusion and walked out of the cabin, saying "Big Bro Galan. Thank you." before bowing with a firm face and jumping off the ship into the water, leaving.
Galan watched him go and sat back down on the deck. Olvia unbuttoned her shirt and let out a breath as she revealed herself, saying "Finally. Why is it so hot here?" Galan started writing in a notebook, ignoring her. Although she was very beautiful and he liked her quite a bit, things were getting more serious and he didn't want her to have an accident…
He frowned.
Again… This annoying woman was giving him problems.
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