East Blue, Loguetown.
This place is known as the "Land of Beginning and End" — the hometown of the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, and also the site of his execution.
The grand era of piracy began right here.
Roger's throne still stands in Loguetown's plaza, atop the infamous execution platform.
After a seven-day voyage aboard a merchant vessel, Ben finally stepped onto the port of Loguetown.
"So just how ridiculously fast is the Straw Hat Pirates' pace?" Ben muttered to himself, feeling the fatigue of the week-long journey.
After all, the Straw Hats had reached the Sabaody Archipelago — the midpoint of the Grand Line — in under half a year, surviving numerous adventures along the way.
At merchant ship speed? It'd be a miracle to cover even half that distance in a full year.
Standing at the dock, basking in the sea breeze, Ben glanced back at the bustling harbor. As one of the more well-known and prosperous towns in the East Blue, Loguetown's docks were filled with ships of all sizes from across the seas.
Surprisingly, Ben spotted a pirate ship among them.
From what he knew, the commanding officer of Loguetown's Navy base at this time was none other than Captain Smoker of the Marine Headquarters — the so-called "White Hunter."
Smoker once confidently declared that no pirate had ever escaped his grasp while he was stationed in Loguetown.
Which meant: any pirate who made it into the Grand Line from East Blue — like Don Krieg, the so-called "Warlord of the East" — probably skipped Loguetown entirely.
So it was pretty clear — the owner of that pirate ship? They weren't going to have a good day.
Honestly, the East Blue's security was quite decent. Ben had sailed for a week and hadn't encountered a single pirate.
He glanced briefly at the pirate flag — no one he recognized. Just a bunch of small fry. He lost interest quickly and left the port, heading toward the town proper. His plan was simple:
Claim the bounty at the Navy base, visit Roger's execution platform, soak in the local atmosphere for a couple days, then catch another merchant ship to Shimotsuki Village.
As luck would have it, just as Ben stepped onto the town's main shopping street, he heard an urgent whistle. Around him, all the street vendors froze for a beat—then sprang into action, quickly packing their wares and shouting to one another:
"It's the Navy's emergency whistle! Run! They're catching pirates again!"
In less than three minutes, the whole market had cleared out. Stalls, kiosks, and small shops stood abandoned, along with a bewildered Ben still standing in the street.
"Uh... that was weirdly efficient," Ben mumbled, looking around at the now-deserted street.
Just then, gunfire erupted from the far end of the road. A group of pirates came charging out, hotly pursued by a unit of Marines.
Leading the pirates was a burly man — bald, one-eyed, wielding a pistol in one hand and a cutlass in the other. He looked fierce and dangerous.
"Damn it! Didn't they say that White Hunter guy went back to HQ to report in? Why the hell is he suddenly—!?"
The pirate captain cursed as he ran, shouting for his crew to hurry up.
Just then, a thick white smoke began billowing from behind them, surging forward at alarming speed. Within a few seconds, it enveloped the stragglers at the back of the pirate group — silencing them instantly. The smoke didn't stop; it accelerated toward the rest.
The pirate captain didn't even look back — he only cared about saving himself. After sprinting over a hundred meters, he spotted Ben standing dumbly in the middle of the street.
"Outta the way!" the pirate roared, swinging his blade toward Ben.
But before the blade could fall, the world went black — a boundless darkness swallowed him whole.
"What the hell?!" the pirate shouted in confusion.
Before he could react, a giant hand emerged from the darkness, clamping around his neck with terrifying force. He was yanked off his feet — then, BANG!
Ben slammed him into the stone pavement with such power that the ground cracked. Blood pooled beneath the pirate's head, and after a few spasms, he moved no more.
At the same time, the thick white smoke finished engulfing the remaining pirates.
White smoke and shadowy darkness clashed briefly on the street — and then from the smoke emerged a figure: Smoker.
As the darkness receded, Ben was revealed as well — a bright grin on his face as he looked toward Smoker.
"You... aren't a spatial ability user, are you?" Smoker said after a pause, sizing him up.
As a Marine HQ officer, Smoker stayed updated on the major events across the seas. He instantly recognized Ben as the one who killed Thatch, commander of the Whitebeard Pirates' 4th division.
Of course, that was from the Whitebeard Pirates' point of view.
To Smoker? Ben was just someone doing the world a favor — excellent work!
"I never said I had any space-related powers," Ben replied cheerfully.
Smoker didn't show hostility, though he remained cautious.
"No one knows your name yet. Mind introducing yourself?"
"Ben," he answered directly, adding with a smile,
"Occupation: Pirate hunter. Age: just turned twenty. Anything else you want to ask?"
Smoker didn't expect such openness. Thinking for a moment, he asked,
"Why are you in Loguetown?"
"To collect my bounty, of course! Like I said, I'm a pirate hunter. I had to dodge the Whitebeard Pirates' retaliation for a while, so I haven't had time to claim Thatch's bounty. Now that I'm in East Blue, it's relatively safe. Come here to see you Marines and get my payout — 360 million Berries, don't short me!" Ben grinned.
Smoker glanced at the half-dead pirate at Ben's feet and said,
"Looks like it should be 362.2 million now."
Ben nodded, amused. "You're paying, so you make the call."
While they were talking, the rest of the Marine unit arrived and quickly began rounding up the pirates. Smoker said,
"This isn't the place for conversation. Mind coming to the base? The Marines are very interested in you."
Ben had planned to go there anyway. That's where the money would be. And given Smoker's reputation, Ben trusted him. He'd never had any issues with the Marines.
He agreed without hesitation, and the two made their way to the Navy base.
As soon as they stepped through the front gates, a flustered girl in glasses rushed over to them.
Ben recognized her instantly — Tashigi, the Marine officer.
"Captain Smoker! Are you alright?"
Smoker waved her off. "Why wouldn't I be?"
Before she could reply, he ordered: "Report to HQ. The man who took down Thatch is here—Ben, a bounty hunter."
Tashigi blinked, then stared at Ben in shock.
Smoker barked: "Quit gawking! Move it!"
(End of Chapter)