As was said before.
Humans—or rather, the "beings" in this world that have already formed some kind of social structure—already possess a characteristic separate from nature.
"Defying" all sorts of natural arrangements, they pursue more.
Emotions, morals, order, rules, technology…
Or: Money, power, force, desire…
And—the unknown.
All of it proves that nature is being tried to be "defied."
Therefore, when something in nature threatens the existence of these "beings," they will rise up to resist, in pursuit of the survival and development of their entire social group.
Fearing the night, people controlled "firelight";
Fearing flames, people used water to extinguish them;
Fearing floods, people moved earth and changed rivers to clear waterways…
And so on.
…
"We have always been this way, and we will always be this way."
Rowan looked at Judge and smiled slowly: "When something in 'nature' threatens us, we don't just accept our fate; instead, we try to 'face' it."
Now, Judge was less like the commander of Germa 66 negotiating with Rowan, and more like a scientist sitting across from Rowan.
Therefore, his demeanor was much more relaxed than usual.
This was the state he needed to be in when considering that intelligence.
Judge stroked his chin and grinned:
"If I were a naturalist, I would certainly find what you just said very arrogant."
…
Arrogant?
Of course.
Anyone who has studied in school for a while would find Rowan's statement arrogant.
How could mere humans defy nature?
If one destroys nature without any regard, they will inevitably face nature's backlash—this is a fundamental rule that even children are taught.
Do not destroy the environment wantonly; do not act carelessly in the world we live in…
This is what we've been told since childhood.
Why, in Ryan Rowan's mouth, does all of this seem possible?
…
"Self-importance and arrogance…?"
Rowan murmured, then looked up and asked, "Is that so? Do you really think that?"
"Of course—I don't,"
Judge's tone shifted, and he grinned, "As long as it benefits us, what does it matter if we defy nature?"
As Judge said, scientists are all like this.
Whether it's Germa 66's cloning technology, Vegapunk's future Pacifista project, or even [Calamity] Queen's virus research, all of it is a "defiance" of nature!
Among them, the bloodline factor theory transcended an entire era, hailed as a scientific achievement that invaded the "domain of gods"!
And it's far more than that; the so-called defying nature is not limited to these world-class scientists.
To eat watermelon on a cold winter island, island farmers invented greenhouses to keep warm;
To explore the mysterious realm of unknown diseases spreading, doctors and scholars developed medicines and vaccines to protect the human body;
To pass down unknown history, people who lived in ancient times created several "cubes" and inscribed ancient characters on them, so that thousands of years could not erode that history;
And so on…
All of this is proof of humanity defying nature!
As one of the representatives of "defying nature," the originator of the bloodline factor theory, Judge naturally thought so too.
In Judge's view, the so-called rules of nature are merely one aspect that can be utilized and must be considered at a scientific level.
It is fundamentally impossible to achieve groundbreaking progress in scientific research without "breaking" some things.
Ethics, morals, rules, frameworks…
Everything that can be broken can be broken.
On the other hand, Rowan just smiled and shook his head.
"I don't really think so."
"Hmm?"
Judge was a little surprised and asked, "An emperor from 800 years ago, what do you think?"
Rowan smiled:
"Do you think it's an expression of self-importance and arrogance?"
He paused, then answered his own question:
"Yes, it is indeed self-importance and arrogance, but what does it matter?"
"Is it only humans, or human-like races, that are defying nature?"
"Beasts in the jungle migrate for survival and fight for the continuation of their species;"
"Plants can be seen all over the world; even on the coldest snowy mountains, there are occasional special blades of grass; even in the cracks of hard stones, you might see twisted trees splitting them in two;"
"It's not just humans, and not just human-like races, that 'defy nature.'"
"Defying nature, not submitting to fate—this is an instinct."
Rowan's voice echoed on the deck of the Germa Kingdom, calm and steady.
"It is the instinct of life."
…
This statement was indeed an angle Judge had not considered before.
What Judge was thinking about was centered more on the scientific level.
The essence of scientists is to break natural rules and rewrite the future.
What Rowan was talking about was centered on "people"—or rather, "life" itself, living in this world.
That was a very abstract idea.
"Life itself is arrogant."
Rowan took a sip of the tea in front of him, letting the liquid solidify the grains of sand that made up the messenger.
If Judge wanted to, he could have decapitated the messenger with a single shot right now.
But clearly, Judge would not do that now.
Rowan "swallowed" the tea and smiled slowly:
"Arrogance allowed life to appear in this world."
"We are born this way!"
…
Judge silently drank his tea.
"Born this way…?"
He had a somewhat different opinion.
"Just because you were born this way, do you go and challenge nature itself? Do you go and cut that tree?"
Judge suddenly leaned down and began to fiddle with the branches of the tree on the sand table with his finger.
He did not have the ability of the dune-dune fruit, so he could only manipulate the sand table himself.
Judge proposed another possibility.
Or rather… a "paradox."
"What if your so-called 'arrogance' is actually part of nature?"
Judge manipulated the little sand figures, gathering them together, and they charged mightily towards the tree.
As Rowan had suggested earlier, those little sand figures were also going to cut down the tree!
But suddenly, the tree's branches swept across, cutting many of the little sand figures in half!
And those sand figures that were killed turned back into nourishment, absorbed by the great tree, and transformed into new devil fruits.
"Let's assume your conclusion is correct."
"Then how can you guarantee that your act of 'cutting down the tree' is not part of this natural cycle?"
"Have you considered the possibility that you might 'never succeed'?"
Facing Judge's question, Rowan grinned.
"Actually, there's only one reason they don't succeed—"
Rowan's next words made Judge understand what "the arrogance of life" was.
"They are not strong enough."
---
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