Quotes / This Bites!

Cross: I was curious, sir. I wanted to observe something I'd thought was a myth until now.
Smoker: Oh yeah? And what would that be?
Cross: A decent Marine.
Smoker: (now furious) Would you care to qualify that statement?
…
Cross: Where do you want me to start?
Smoker: Your general opinion of the Marines.
Cross: Not a lot to say, really. The Marines are an unscrupulous, morally corrupt military organization that is feared by civilians the world over. Simple as that.
Smoker: (Death Glare) That's what you think of us?
Cross: (coolly) No…It's a legitimate fact. One that you proved earlier.
Smoker: (snorts) I didn't hurt that girl and you know it.
Cross: (frigidly) You didn't have to. That girl, her father, and everyone who saw you was scared. Not of you, not of your powers, but of your uniform. Of what you represent. The only difference between you and those pirates you arrested? You're well-funded. You're organized. There's more of you than there are of them. And you're always there. And if the civilians try to stand up and get rid of you, then the World Government will crush them like ants.
Smoker: (eyes narrowing) This argument is starting to sound familiar.
Cross: (snorts) I'm no Revolutionary, but I'm not an idiot either. I keep up with the maps. Islands disappear, never to be heard from again. The World Nobles are allowed to run roughshod over the rules that their so-called bloodlines established. Hell, I've heard stories of the Marines hunting down and capturing civilians all because they bear brands. Very specific brands. (sardonic laugh) The great and powerful Marines: enforcing the laws they don't follow and protecting the citizens from all but themselves.
Soundbite: (venomously) Ooh-rah.
(Beat while Smoker ponders Cross' words)
Smoker: I trust you have proof to back up these claims.
Cross: (deadpan) I can give you three. Just off the top of my head: Captain Axe-Hand Morgan, who ruled over Shell Town like it was his own little fiefdom until a pirate deposed him, Captain Nezumi of the 16th Branch, whose pockets are very open from what I've heard, and Admiral 'Akainu' Sakazuki, who doesn't give two shits about protecting civilian lives, merely killing all pirates in his path, good and bad alike.
Smoker: (snorts derisively) Good pirates. That's a myth.
Cross: Now there, I can give you two examples. First, I don't know about you, but I'm fairly certain that Whitebeard protecting Fishman Island is a distinctly 'good' thing to do.
Smoker: (too promptly, as if justifying it to himself too) Neither King Neptune nor any noble of the Ryugu Kingdom has asked for support from the Marines, nor has the World Government ordered us to send troops to provide support.
Cross: (sickeningly sweetly) Oh, I get it! So the long and short of it is that the Marines won't do their job and give a flying fuck until they're ordered to, and the World Government won't order you to, I reiterate, do your jobs and protect the civilians of a member nation, because they couldn't give a crap about pirates and slavers raiding their personal aquarium. How am I doing so far, am I in the ballpark?
Smoker: (growls quietly)
Cross: (snorts) You know, I can't see why people call the Warlords 'government dogs'. After all, from what I've seen so far? The Marines are the World Government's bitch.
Smoker: (quickly and angrily) Didn't you say you had two points?
Cross: (chuckles humorlessly) Well, as for the second…(grins cockily) You talked to my captain earlier, and he seemed pretty decent, no?
(Smoker glares menacingly at Cross)
Cross: (looking at Smoker with an unimpressed expression) Including me and my snail, my crew is precisely seven members strong. We haven't looted, plundered or pillaged the entire way here and as far as I can tell they haven't ever hurt any civilians, period. All we're doing is flying a Jolly Roger and stocking up before we go to the Grand Line. But hey! (holds up his wrists with a mock-defeated sigh) None of that matters to you. Doesn't matter to the Marines. Our flag is black, so we must be evil! So come on! Lock me up! Toss me in Impel Down to be tortured far more cruelly than most pirates could even conceive of. I mean…(tilts head curiously at Smoker) That is your job, right?
Jeremiah Cross, Chapter 3, his first meeting with Smoker

Cross: That 'kid', as you call him, was just saved by a legitimate miracle. He is incredible and I... I believe in his dream, I believe in it every step of the way. He is going to go on and do awe-inspiring things... and if it means getting to see those things, being able to march with him, step by step, every inch of the way? (grins) Then yeah. Yeah, I'll bet it all on him. Because I genuinely believe in Monkey D. Luffy becoming King of the Pirates. And nothing you or anyone in the whole wide world says will convince me otherwise.
Jeremiah Cross, Chapter 4, his second meeting with Smoker

Vivi: (icy calm) Listen to me very carefully. You will release Mister Jeremiah, and you will leave my friends alone, or I swear that I will do everything in my power to make you regret your actions for the rest of your miserable life, DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?
Tashigi: (removing her blade from Cross' neck) Ma’am, please—!
Vivi: (jabbing Tashigi in the collar) No, you will listen to me, Marine! You have been hounding me and my friends from the very moment we set foot in this country, my country, and I am sick of it! I am giving you a direct order: stay away from the Straw Hat Pirates, or pay the consequences!
Smoker: (lazily) And who do you think you are, ordering my Officer around?
Vivi: (furiously) Who am I? I am Princess Nefertari Vivi, daughter of Queen Nefertari Titi, now passed, and King Nefertari Cobra, heir to the Alabastan throne, twenty-third in the ancient and honorable line of Nefertari, and friend to Monkey D. Luffy and his crewmates, who are the sole reason that I have survived this long. Cross warned me about you, Smoker. He said that nothing short of the word of God would be able to convince you to give up your pursuit of justice once you got started. Well, guess what? I might not take pride in it, I might even be deeply ashamed of it at times, but for better or worse, the fact is that I am descended from one of the twenty gods who created this world, and I do have the power to match that claim. So! You will let us go, you will gather your troops and lead them to Alubarna so as to stop this revolution, YOU WILL RESPECT MY AUTHORITY AND YOU WILL SHOW ME THE RESPECT I AM DUE, IS THAT CLEAR, CAPTAIN SMOKER?
Nefertari Vivi, Chapter 19, the final time that Smoker and Tashigi meet the Straw Hats as enemies

Welcome to life with the Straw Hat Pirates. Bid your last farewells to your problems and your sanity, because they'll never come back.
Donny on the general Modus Operandi of the Straw-Hat Pirates, Chapter 29

Our main area of expertise lies in the field of practical insanity, or! In more common parlance... Applied. Bullshit.
Jeremiah Cross, Chapter 34

So, right now, in the present, you need to ask yourself… 'Is this what I call justice? Can I take pride in something like this?'
Jaguar D. Saul's last words to Aokiji, thrown back in Aokiji's face by Jeremiah Cross, Chapter 35

You two picked the wrong person to try staying undercover in front of; nobody withstands my words.
Jeremiah Cross towards Kaku and Kalifa, who have just blown their cover, Chapter 37.

Cross: (over the SBS) So, ladies and gentlemen, before I begin explaining exactly why I'm (about to raid Enies Lobby), I'd like you to listen to the following sound, committed by our two newest allies. Ready, Oimo?
Sengoku: What.
Oimo: Yep!
Sengoku: What!
Cross: And you, Kashi?
Sengoku: What!
Kashi: I've been wanting to do this my whole life!
Sengoku: WHAT?!
Cross: Then in that case... do it.
Sengoku: WHAAAAAT?! (blows the roof off Marineford)
Oimo/Kashi: RIGHT!
(The two giants smash down the giant stone gates of Enies Lobby)
Cross: To those Marines that might have found the names of our two compatriots to be somewhat familiar! Allow me to refresh your memories! Those were Oimo and Kashi! Members of the Giant Warrior Pirates who, up until all of three minutes ago, were detrimentally employed by the World Government to act as guards for the GATES OF THE GOVERNMENT'S JUDICIAL ISLAND, ENIES LOBBY!
Sengoku: GAUTAMA FUCKING DAMN IT! (punches office wall) SOMEONE GET ME GARP! GET ME TSURU! GET ME AOKIJI! GET ME EVERYONE RIGHT FUCKING NOW!

Random Vice-Admiral: E-everyone-!?
Sengoku: EEEVERYYYOOONE!
Garp: Huh, didn't think he could get that hammy anymore...
Sengoku: (pulling Garp up into the office via his head) GET THE FUCK IN HERE AND PAY FOR THE SINS OF YOUR BLOOD, YOU DAMN BASTARD!
Garp: Shit.
Jeremiah Cross broadcasting his intent to attack Enies Lobby (and Sengoku's reaction to it), Chapter 38.

Spandam: P-P-Please, Fleet Admiral, e-even if it is the Straw Hats, t-they're still just o-one pirate crew! T-The last message I received about Straw Hat said that h-he'd only managed to take out five of our men! H-How much damage could they have possibly have caused in a m-measly two hours!?
Kaku: (noticing the Transponder Snail is starting to shine gold) A-Ah, Fleet Admiral? Before you proceed to rip my superior a new one… executive permission to speak freely?
Sengoku: Make it fast.
Kaku: Thank you, sir. (gives Spandam a flat look) You had to say it, you absolute fucking idiot.
Spandam: (starts to sputter in outrage)
Sengoku: YOU COMPLETE AND UTTER FAILURE OF A HUMAN BEING! HOW MUCH DAMAGE COULD THEY HAVE CAUSED IN TWO HOURS?! TO START, JEREMIAH CROSS SUBVERTED OIMO AND KASHI AND HAD THEM BREAK DOWN THE GATEHOUSE! THE STRAW HATS AND THE SMALL ARMY OF ALLIES THEY BROUGHT WITH THEM, SIXTY IN ALL, THEN PROCEEDED TO RUN ROUGHSHOD OVER THE REGULAR SOLDIERS! AS FOR THE ELITES, THAT THRICE-DAMNED SNAIL LEASHED THE WATCHDOGS, BASKERVILLE'S BEEN CUT DOWN, AND THE JURYMEN AREN'T EVEN SLOWING THEM DOWN!
Spandam: W-Wait, Basker—!? Y-You mean—!?
Sengoku: THEY'RE IN THE DAMNED COURTHOUSE! AND IF ALL OF THAT ISN'T ENOUGH, THE ENTIRE SHITSHOW HAS BEEN BROADCAST ON THE DAMNED SBS! NOT ONLY ARE WE LOOKING EVERY BIT LIKE THE INCOMPETENT FOOLS THAT CROSS DESCRIBES US AS, HE'S INSPIRED ALL TEN OF THE OTHER BIG-SHOT ROOKIES IN PARADISE TO FOLLOW THE STRAW HATS' LEAD! IN SUMMARY, THIS IS THE SINGLE MOST HUMILIATING MOMENT IN THE HISTORY OF THE MARINE CORPS AND WORLD GOVERNMENT PUT TOGETHER SINCE ROGER'S DAMNED EXECUTION, YOU INCOMPETENT MORON! Ohhh, but don't just take my word for it. If you don't believe me, try looking out your damn window. I'm certain that you'll be able to see the SMOKE FROM THE ISLAND BURNING BENEATH YOUR FEET FROM THERE!
Spandam: (does so... and sees one of his strongest subordinates getting his ass handed to him) Tha-That's Jabra… A-And… Blueno…
Sengoku: Let me be clear, Spandam. This is already nothing short of a disaster. So, rather than a warning or orders, I'm presenting you with an ultimatum: If the SBS is still running and confirming that the Straw Hats are currently in Enies Lobby at the first light of dawn, I will be setting sail for the Judicial Island myself along with every Marine that I can muster. Let me be clear, Director Spandam: If the situation is not under control by the time I arrive, there will be consequences. (Sengoku releases a wave of Conqueror's Haki through the Snail) Don't disappoint me further.
Spandam learns just how bad the shitstorm he started is from a reliable source, Chapter 39

Sengoku: (completely enraged with a Slasher Smile) OHHH, SPAAANDAAAM?! I HAVE NEW ORDERS FOR YOU, STRAIGHT FROM THE FIVE ELDER STARS: RETURN TO MARINE HEADQUARTERS IMMEDIATELY TO RECEIVE, AND I QUOTE THE ELDER STARS THEMSELVES, EVERYTHING YOU HAVE COMING TO YOU. AND HEAVEN HELP YOU IF NICO ROBIN ISN'T WITH YOU WHEN YOU GET HERE.
Sengoku's rant, after Spandam accidentally broadcasts his intentions to Take Over the World to the entire world - yes, this includes the Five Elder Stars, Chapter 40.

In the land of silence, he who has a voice is GOD!
Soundbite, Chapter 40

HoohoohooHEEHEEHEEhahaha... haaaa. PEOPLE OF THE WORLD...I HAVE A MESSAGE OF MY OWN. I have a message that I want to share with some people. TO THE WARLORD OF THE SEAS KNOWN AS DONQUIXOTE DOFLAMINGO. TO THE FOUR JAILER BEASTS OF THE UNDERWATER GAOL IMPEL DOWN! AND FINALLY, TO ANYBODY ELSE LIKE THEM...I suggest that you all move the hell over, BECAUSE YOU SEE...THIS SNAIL JUST GOT ON YOUR LEVEL.
Soundbite, Chapter 40, after Awakening his Devil Fruit

"The Iron Body is the root of it all. It teaches the body to be strong, so that it might withstand all forms of punishment and not rend itself apart. This must be brought to terms with the Paper Arts, so that one's muscles remain flexible even while staying in-flexible."
"Shave comes next. It teaches swiftness, speed, so that one may act decisively and in an instant, and yet all thanks to a simple motion. Moonwalk and Tempest Kick are a dual lesson: how to put one's full body into affecting the air around them, as well as how to weaponize the very air one jumps off of. Finally, Finger Pistol is not about technique, but mentality. One's whole body is put into use in the attack, all muscles are exerted in the motion, and thus to perform it, one must effectively transform their body into a weapon."
"Individually these techniques are all incredibly powerful, but when brought together in a single instant and a single action... They form a weapon of unparalleled might and destruction."
Boss Dugong, Chapter 40, analyzing the Six Powers as he's about to use his own variant of the Six King Gun

Hey... Hey, kid. Can you hear me? Heh. Yeah, that’s what I thought. Look, kid, I know that you’re going through hell right now, but you can’t give up, alright? You’re not done yet, not even close. Here, I’ll even help you through it. First things first. Get back on your feet. Good, that’s good! Alright, next, that Gear Second of yours. Think you can keep it going? Heh, that caught his attention. Now, this part is the easiest of all. You see that big ugly bastard in front of you, the one who’s been kicking the crap out of you this entire time? Well, if you lose here, then he’s going to kill your crew. He’s going to kill each and every last one of your friends, and he won’t stop until he’s done. The only person who can stop that is you, kid. So, what you’re gonna do is you’re gonna dig deep. You’re gonna pull up every last bit of power you have, every last inch of it, all of it, and you’re going to put it towards kicking. His. Tail. Think you can handle that? Heh. Knew you had it in you. Well, you seem to have this handled, so I’ll be going. Good luck to ya. Oh, and before I forget? You wear my old hat damn well.
Gol D. Roger encouraging Luffy, Chapter 42

We won...YOU HEAR THAT? WE WON! IN THE FINAL COUNT OF THE STRAW HAT PIRATES AGAINST THE WORLD ITSELF, AGAINST REALITY ITSELF! WE! HAVE! WOOOOOOON!
Jeremiah Cross, Chapter 42, during the Straw Hat's greatest victory in the Enies Lobby arc: Saving Merry from an unavoidable death

I AM THE MAN… WHO WILL BE KING OF THE PIRATES! ZEHAHAHAHA! ZEEEEEEHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAA!
Marshall D "Blackbeard" Teach, Chapter 43

Pirates sail the seas for a reason! They sail for freedom! They sail for their dreams! I've run into a lot of people who calles themselves pirates until now, but they had some kind of reason that kept them going even if it was something stupid like money or power! You can't eat money, you can't eat power, and they don't help you get friends!

But YOU! You don't care about any of that! All you want is the throne, and for what?! For revenge?! Because you lost your friends?! You don't even remember them! You're just sailing because of your pain! Because you don't know what else to do! And you're making everyone else hurt too, just because! You're not a pirate! You're not even a person! You're a shadow! A ghost! YOU DIED WITH YOUR CREW!

Monkey D. Luffy to Awakened!Moria, Chapter 51

I wanna make a toast... To an ocean. An ocean that has a reputation of weakness. An ocean that has a reputation for a lack of power, lack of wealth, lack of resources... but at the same time, its people are rich. I raise my toast to an ocean of people who are powerful, not in body or mind or whatever, but who are powerful in heart! An ocean of people who, no matter what, will always stand shoulder to shoulder for the sake of the person next to them, be they family or neighbor, be they criminal, civilian, or even the damn Marines, and never give in! I raise my toast to an ocean of people who will never back down and never surrender, no matter how much shit the world tries to pile on them! I raise my toast to an ocean whose spirit and legend can never be snuffed out, no matter what you or anyone ever does or says! I raise my toast to the Blue of Hopes and Dreams! I RAISE MY TOAST! TO THE EAST BLUE!
Bartolomeo, Chapter 57

Do not attempt to dissuade me, Jeremiah Cross. I need only one look at you to see that you know what I’m here to do and why. You also know that your entire crew together would be unable to stop me by force. You are left with your words, and I’m sure you can make a compelling argument. But you won’t, no matter how much you may want to, because you’re smart enough and knowledgeable enough to know that if you do, it will lead to your crew’s deaths. I am perfectly aware of the solidarity of the Straw Hat Pirates. That is the precise reason why I have come here. You conquered Enies Lobby because you had reinforcements and because CP 9 was the only true challenge you had to face. But the Government’s two remaining bases have not decayed from the expected standard. And now, with the war against Whitebeard on the horizon, there is even more security than usual. One such as your captain has a chance to succeed if he were to infiltrate either or both of the remaining bases. But I guarantee that at least one of your crew would not survive if all of you attempted the mission. I will not give you the choice to say no, Jeremiah Cross. If I leave you as you are, your crew will use whatever resources they have to try to rescue Fire Fist Ace, and then proceed to the New World, and anyone lost along the way will be on your head. Do you believe, fully and completely, that all of you as you are can survive a war between the most powerful forces in the world, and then proceed to the Emperors’ domain and successfully claim Roger’s throne?
{Cross tries and fails to come up with a strong enough rebuttal}
You already know this. The Straw Hat Pirates are not ready for the strongest that this world has to offer. I will meet your crew at Grove 13, outside of the Rip-Off Bar, at sunset. Ensure that they are prepared to depart by then. They will leave this place when I arrive… whether they wish it or not. This decision is final. That is all.

Bartholomew Kuma spells out to Cross what needs to happen, Chapter 70

Cross: …shut up.
B.R.O.B.: {sighs} Oh, I know where this is going. Look, can we skip the rant for once? I’m actually—
Cross: Why don’t you just shut the hell up and enjoy the show, damn it!? This is what you wanted, isn’t it?! The whole human experience, there for you to observe and enjoy, start to finish?! Well, here it is! I’ve had my highs, my victories, and now I’m paying for it! This is the end of the line, depth of despair! Where we all end up eventually! So why don’t you get it over with and laugh already!? That’s what you’ve been doing this entire time, isn’t it? Man plans, god laughs, so these past few months must have been hilarious to you, haven’t they! Knowing that I was so confident, so sure of myself, and so very, very doomed. Well, congratulations: Joke paid off and I’m left in the ashes. So why don’t you just shut the hell up and move on to your next fleeting fancy, huh? THE SHOW’S OVER!
B.R.O.B.: ...you're wrong. What you do does matter. But earlier… you were also right. When I did what I did… you weren’t wrong. I dropped a mortal ant in a big pond to watch it drown. I’ve done it more times than you can count, for longer than you can imagine. And every time it’s been funny, and every time, it’s been the same. Human flails, human dies without purpose, I get a laugh. The end. And you? Weren’t meant to be any different.
Cross: {snorts} And lo, I turn out not to be.
B.R.O.B.: For the love of—you are not hearing me. The fact that you are still speaking to me, right here, right now, proves that you are!
Cross: W-what are you-?
B.R.O.B.: Loguetown. You were supposed to get your skull caved in by a certain cigar-huffing bloodhound. You mouth off to him, say the wrong thing, gray matter paints the pavement. I get a laugh, and then I move on. Except that. Didn’t. Happen.
Cross: I... T-that-
B.R.O.B.: Was it an impossibility? No. But it was stupidly lucky, like a natural 20. So I thought, ‘hey, fluke and a bit more fun, what the hell’, so I settled in and waited to see when you would finally bite it, so that I could get my laughs and move on. Except that clearly didn’t happen. You catch Primal Cholera, your innards don’t melt out through your bowels. You fight the Marines and the Wax-Man, at the same time, and don’t become a museum exhibit. You fight the Unluckies, head-on, and don’t become roadkill. Time and time again, the odds stacked against you, and time and time again, you managed to overcome them. Which led to me deciding ‘hey, what the hell’, and I doubled down. I multiplied your odds into an entirely different factor, and you somehow still keep succeeding. Your words did touch the people, and somehow, so many other long odds start to cascade. And slowly, piece by piece, inch by inch, the world starts to change. And honestly? You were right earlier. Not enough for true change, not enough for anything particularly significant. So your overall worth? Improved from a mere ‘laugh’ to ‘interesting’, but that’s it. And then. You did it. You went. And did it.
Cross: What are you-?
B.R.O.B.: Saving that oversized bath toy shouldn’t have been possible. For the small stuff, the stuff that ultimately doesn’t matter? There’s wiggle room. There’s doubt. But not for this. Not for something like that. ‘Going Merry dies’, that’s how that day should have gone. And yes, it only became possible because you appealed to me. But that still shouldn’t have changed anything, what I did shouldn’t have been enough. Nothing but a blatant intervention should have been enough. But you made her spirit manifest after the first time. You persuaded Galley-La to fix her. You found the spare Devil Fruit and stole it before it was lost to the abyss and kept it safe long enough to feed her. And you supercharged the furball’s growth rate so they could fix her fast enough. I didn’t save her. You did. Still, since I helped, anyone could doubt that. Things should be completely impossible without that. So I knew that I couldn’t expect that this time, this person would have a different fate. When I tuned into this time-space, it was to watch ‘Fire-Fist’ Portgas D. Ace die in his brother’s arms. Because that’s what happens to him, every time. And now it didn’t happen. You want proof that this goes beyond ‘luck’? Then read the paper I crammed down your throat again. Those words are proof. You did the impossible. You changed this world. YOU MADE A DIFFERENCE. You know, I really can’t believe I’m going this far. But if the only alternatives are being ‘O, Mighty Smiter’ or you staying stuck in self-doubt? Well, take it from me: there isn’t a lot to watch nowadays, so either I salvage you, or I go numb with boredom until the next evolutionary turnover, and I don’t have the attention span for that, so here goes. Let me hammer this home for you: Kronos and the Norn and the Moirai and every other fate-weaver and clock-keeper there is, they’re all tightasses who have tight grips on the reigns. You mortals can talk about fighting fate all you like, but at the end of the eon, that doesn’t actually happen. When it comes to any story that bleeds into your world’s subconscious? Everything is supposed to be predetermined, A to B to C, and that’s how it goes, and how it went… until now. Until you. Don’t ask me how, but you've managed to loosen their grips but good. It's not perfect, but damn it, you've done more and come farther than anyone in existence has ever thought possible. Even me. Especially me. And if you don’t believe me? Well first, fuck you. And second, look at this.
{Cross is shown a cascade of images of all the people he's met and/or influenced in his travels however so marginally, then two final images: one of the Straw Hat Pirates' last party before separation... and one of Luffy, Sabo and Ace reenacting their sake ceremony in the present day.}
B.R.O.B.: You’ve gone further than even I thought possible, fought harder than I thought possible, than I’ve seen most humans fight. I wanted fun, and instead, I got a spectacle. I chose you for shits and giggles, kid. I chose you thinking you were one of infinity, and instead you turned out to be one out of infinity. I wanted ordinary, and instead, I got you. So… know that I don’t use my vast knowledge when I say this. Know that I’m not calculating the odds or looking ahead or… whatever. I’m just telling you what I know. Me. And what I know is… that you can do this. You can go the distance. You can give them hell. You can do things none—none even up here—have ever contemplated. You. Can. Do this. There’s a quaint little saying your carbon-based specks have: ‘You miss one-hundred percent of the shots you don’t take’. Well, that’s true here. You have a chance. It’s small. Microscopic, really, beyond the smallest quark your kind has ever perceived… but hey, what’s that matter to you? After all… you’re a Straw Hat. So. It's time you get the hell up, wipe the bitch off your face, and get to it. There's work to be done. After all… I'm starting to get bored here : P
Cross: Get back in your seat. I don’t see any credits rolling here, do you?

Cross regains his spirit, Chapter 82

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