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Gion: "Is that… Smoker? That man actually made a move?!"
Sadi: "You've got to be kidding—an Captain is really going to block Arton?"
Domino: "He has no choice. Arton plans to make an example of a World Noble's corpse; if Smoker does nothing, he'll be called to account afterward."
Stussy: "This time really puts that Captain Smoker in a jam. He has to stop Arton from using the World Noble and face his former subordinate, Tashigi."
Kalifa: "The World Noble is already dead. Even if Arton plays with the body, Smoker won't catch too much heat. But Hina—she saw Arton execute a World Noble and couldn't do a thing. She's the one who'll face real trouble. She hasn't joined Arton like Tashigi, but one day she might walk the very same path."
Smoothie: "That Tashigi can already unleash flying slashes… Looks like she's using the Tia template that was supposed to be mine—quite well, hehe."
Belo Betty: "Useless. A little Navy captain can't stop Arton."
Galette: "What a clueless Marine. Arton is doing something truly huge! Just imagining a World Noble treated that way is exciting."
Boa Hancock: "Hurry it up, Arton. This empress can't wait to see how the Navy and the World Government react!"
Smoker's charge was recorded in every diary copy; all the holders watched. One after another, they curled their lips: no one believed Smoker could stop Arton from turning that World Noble's body into a statement—even Gion, Domino, and Kalifa felt the same. All anyone could do was keep a tense eye on how things evolved.
Far below, Doll, Kujaku, and Hibari had already reached the scaffold square, yet could only pace in anxious circles.
Hibari asked, "What do we do—should we stop Smoker, Vice Admiral Doll?" She stared at Smoker, who had just been sliced away by a single slash.
"No, we do nothing," Doll replied. "Remember, our goal is to infiltrate Arton's circle if at all possible. If we blow our cover now, how do we sneak in later?"
Kujaku nodded agreement. "Exactly. Even if we wanted to act, we could do nothing at the moment—Arton is far too strong. All we can do now is trust that Tashigi still remembers old ties."
She glanced around the milling spectators, then said, "Let's move over there—more people, better for hiding. Our chances of contacting Arton will be higher, too." Doll and Hibari both nodded and stepped into the thicker crowd.
None of the three noticed that, not far away, Carina sat leisurely in a café, calmly watching them leave.
Carina chuckled. "As expected, we run into diary holders everywhere. You Navy types really are persistent. But do you seriously think a bit of makeup and keeping your diaries tucked away can fool Arton—or our eyes?"
She turned to Hina, whom Uta had brought into the café. Hina was awake now, perfectly aware of how far things had progressed. Watching the feed in her diary and hearing Carina's words, she could only sigh softly.
Hina said, "So you never meant to buy supplies—you stayed on the outskirts to observe whether our people showed up?"
Carina smiled. "Shopping? Kaya can use her clone technique for that. Arton doesn't know you Navy women have diaries. As crew, it falls to us to work a little harder."
Hina went silent again. If Doll, Hibari, and Kujaku were all exposed, she had no idea who else could truly slip in close to Arton—perhaps only some female Government agents with diaries she herself didn't even know existed.
Hina pursed her lips. "What do you intend to do to them?"
Her gaze naturally followed the direction in which Doll's trio had gone.
Carina answered lightly, "Don't worry too much, Miss Hina. We're old acquaintances, and by now you should have a feel for Arton. Sure, he has a low opinion of the Navy—so his opinion of diary holders like you isn't great either—but you're still heroines in his story. He can't bring himself to actually kill you. If those women don't cause us trouble, we won't lay a hand on them. Of course, if they try to approach Captain Arton, we'll have to take measures."
Uta nodded in agreement beside her.
Hina exhaled in relief—yet Carina's next words made her tense again.
"Instead of fretting about those female Marines, maybe you should worry about yourself, Miss Hina. You witnessed a World Noble's death and couldn't do a thing. Can you really stay safely inside the Navy? I think even that needs‑a‑good‑beating Gion, whom Arton keeps mentioning, won't be able to protect you."
She finished the thought, took a leisurely sip of coffee, and Hina could only sigh deeply once more. She knew exactly how precarious her own situation was; making a decision would not be easy.
…
Loguetown, plaza.
"Flying slash? You actually learned flying slashes?" Smoker re‑formed from billowing white smoke, staring up at the scaffold in shock.
Tashigi stood there with her blade drawn, expression tangled. "It's been a while, Captain Smoker."
Smoker answered, "Yeah… Quite a while. You've grown a lot stronger. But why are you like this? Why stand beside Arton?" He raised his jitte, Ten Hands, and pointed it straight at her.
Tashigi said, "Captain Smoker, I've decided I'm no longer a Marine. I'm already a member of the Flameblade Pirates."
"Huh?! What did you say? I didn't catch that clearly!" Smoker's brow furrowed even tighter.
This time Tashigi said nothing. Instead she swung again—another flying slash arced toward Smoker, physically splitting his Logia body into two drifting masses of smoke. Though the blow did no real damage, it conveyed her decision unmistakably.
"Why, Tashigi? Did the man beside you threaten you?" Smoker clenched his fists and stared into her eyes, searching for the slightest flicker of hesitation. Unfortunately, Tashigi's gaze contained only steely resolve.
"Don't misunderstand, Smoker," Arton said. "I never forced her to stay with me. If you want someone to blame, blame this magnificent World Noble." He lifted the corpse in one hand.
The World Noble—Saint Charlos—was still dressed in that unmistakable aristocratic garb. When Arton raised the body aloft, Smoker and the gathered residents of Loguetown recognized him instantly. Reporters' shutters clacked in a frenzy.
Cries rippled through the square.
—"My gosh—is that man a World Noble?"
—"I've seen pictures in the news; they wear exactly those clothes! The only thing missing is the transparent bubble helmet!"
—"B‑but the man Arton's holding is obviously dead—stone‑cold dead! Don't tell me Arton killed a World Noble?"
—"It's fake—gotta be fake. He must have dressed up a corpse as a World Noble."
—"Even so, that's forbidden. The Navy and the Government will never let it slide—they'll kill Arton for sure!"
—"Big news—huge news! Arton's about to set the world on fire again!"
—"More photos, we need more photos!"
Ordinary townsfolk and reporters looked on, some worried, some stunned, some excited. A few timid souls had already decided to flee; within minutes, the once‑bustling scaffold plaza had lost half its foot traffic.
"Arton, did you really kill a World Noble?! And what's that World Noble's connection to Tashigi?!" Smoker shouted, grinding his teeth. A dreadful premonition swept over him; knowing Tashigi as well as he did, he suspected the World Noble's fate was entangled with her in some way.
...
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