[One Piece] “Let’s Stop the War” — Why a Random Marine’s Line Still Divides Fans Years Later
#18 LAND OF WANO
Marineford Soldier (2018/06/19): Was He Speaking Sense, or Missing the Point Entirely?
A nameless marine shouts, “Let’s stop the war. Lives are being wasted.” On paper, it sounds humane. But in One Piece, is that kind of mercy actually naïve — or the rare moment of true reason?
The Immediate Rejection: “What Is This Guy Even Saying?”
1: Anonymous Pirate. 2018/06/19 “What the hell is this guy…?”
Koby “Please, stop it!!!!” “Stop the fighting already!!!!”
Random Pirate “What the hell is this guy…?”
“These lives are being wasted!!!!” “Every single soldier out there has a family waiting for them to come home!!!!!!”
3: Anonymous Pirate. 2018/06/19 If he got killed, nobody could really complain.
10: Anonymous Pirate. 2018/06/19 Why is a marine not killing pirates? I really hate this scene.
14: Anonymous Pirate. 2018/06/19 >>10 A pirate crew that lost its captain will just get crushed by another Yonko anyway, so there’s no need to cause more damage yourself. That’s what it means.
16: Anonymous Pirate. 2018/06/19 In the end it’s just war cosplay.
Is Mercy a Luxury in War?
19: Anonymous Pirate. 2018/06/19 Even if Akainu was weakened, I thought he was stopped by sheer force. So did Akainu just shut up because he cared about his backing?
22: Anonymous Pirate. 2018/06/19 Wasn’t this right before Shanks declared the end of the war?
24: Anonymous Pirate. 2018/06/19 It’s just common sense. Continuing to fight after achieving your goal is stupid.
25: Anonymous Pirate. 2018/06/19 >>24 It’s about hunting down the remnants.
29: Anonymous Pirate. 2018/06/19 >>24 Calmly thinking about it, after taking down one of the Yonko, continuing to waste forces would be idiotic. If Kaido had actually shown up, the Marines could’ve been half-dead.
Did the Logic Apply Beyond Pirates?
26: Anonymous Pirate. 2018/06/19 This is basically the only “correct argument” in One Piece.
—Impel Down—
Hannyabal “What the hell are you…?! You’re nothing but pirates and traitors who only made a name for yourselves out in the free world…!!!”
“Saving your brother?! Don’t spout pretty words, you trash of society!!! Just by sailing the seas and existing… you make ordinary people live in fear of losing the ones they love…!!!”
“They can’t even sleep at night!!!!”
28: Anonymous Pirate. 2018/06/19 >>26 You could apply this logic directly to the Celestial Dragons too.
30: Anonymous Pirate. 2018/06/19 >>26 This is completely a protagonist-side line, and the situation is totally one the protagonist would be in lol.
👉 When “Common Sense” Sounds Like a Protagonist’s Line
What’s striking isn’t that the marine is wrong — many commenters admit he’s logically correct. The discomfort comes from who is saying it.
In One Piece, “stop fighting, lives matter” is usually a line reserved for protagonists after they’ve earned moral authority through action. Hearing it from a disposable background marine feels out of place, almost invasive, as if the story briefly forgot its own rules.
That’s why some readers reject the line instinctively, even while agreeing with its logic.
👉 Why This Line Still Feels Uncomfortable in One Piece
Several comments point out something more unsettling: this line works too well as a hero’s statement.
It exposes a structural truth — wars in One Piece rarely end because someone says the right thing. They end because overwhelming power arrives (Shanks), or because authority figures decide it’s time.
The marine’s plea doesn’t fail because it’s wrong. It fails because One Piece is a world where correctness alone has no weight without power.
Comments