"Mr. Onigumo."
Smoker casually saluted before leaning back on the railing to resume his cigar puffing.
Both he and Onigumo were taught by Zephyr and recognized each other from early on; formalities were less of a concern in private settings.
"I don't understand what you mean by displeasure."
Smoker looked out at the distant sea, "If by that you mean watching those nobles hold debauched parties day after day, ordering us around like slaves..."
"While we still have to waste an entire month escorting them, then yes, I'm quite displeased. And what puzzles me is why you seem completely unfazed by it?"
To put the other matters aside, just last week.
He saw with his own eyes the King of Pis Kingdom, who flew into a rage simply because the sweetness of the coffee offered wasn't to his liking, brutally whipped six maids to death.
Two of them were merely teenagers, around the age of thirteen or fourteen.
When his anger couldn't be contained and he broke through the guards to intervene, it was Onigumo who personally stopped him.
"Reaction? What reaction do you expect from me? You're thirty now and still as naive as when you were a teenager, don't you find it pathetic?"
Onigumo sneered, the Cloak of Justice behind him flapping loudly in the wind, "Those three kings, the other two might be passable, but His Highness Alta of Pis Kingdom, carries a quarter of the Heavenly Celestial Dragon's blood!"
"Otherwise, the headquarters wouldn't be emphasizing this so much, sending me to escort them back. I can't afford to offend them; how dare you make trouble for His Highness Alta?"
"Remember this, Smoker!"
Onigumo grinned, poking Smoker on the forehead with his finger, "I saved your life; you should be thanking me!"
"Honestly, with your ability, you should easily hold the position of Headquarter Rear Admiral, not to mention Vice Admiral."
"Yet what happened? Always for similar reasons, rebellious, doing things your own way, how many times have you been disciplined by the headquarters without learning your lesson!"
"And now, you're still just a mere Colonel, not even as good as many rookies who graduated a few years ago!"
Onigumo's tone, besides admonishment, carried a bit of a frustrated disappointment toward his fellow student Brother.
Eight years ago, Smoker was already a Headquarters Colonel.
And eight years later, he's still a Headquarters Colonel.
He's been reassigned to East Sea Log Town, a godforsaken place, where Logia-type Ability User spends his days dealing with trivial criminals with bounties of only millions of Belly.
If not for the coincidence of passing through his jurisdiction, conveniently being on hand, he wouldn't qualify to be part of such an important escort mission.
"If it means becoming as indifferent towards such matters as you are to get promoted..."
Smoker was silent for a moment, then suddenly took a firm drag on his cigar, "Then I regret nothing, being a Colonel all along is fine with me."
Hmm? He suddenly focused his gaze on the sea to the right.
There was a small fishing boat, manned by an elderly fisher couple over sixty.
They had already steered clear of the warship, but hadn't anticipated the large yacht to suddenly change course and head straight towards them, causing them to panic, caught off guard.
"Crash into them! Crash into them! Crash into them!"
His Highness Alta of Pis Kingdom, was presently riding a guard like a horse, shouting vigorously on the deck.
"Turn slightly to the left, make haste, otherwise if these two peasants jump into the sea, this king won't see any fun!"
Damn it… Smoker's expression turned grim, and in an instant, his body transformed into a thick white smoke, surging towards the fishing boat on the sea.
This guy, truly a hopeless fool.
Watching the white smoke vanishing into the distance, Onigumo narrowed his eyes slightly, sighing in disappointment.
Reckless, driven by instinct, disregarding consequences...
Teacher Zephyr really is getting old and senile, claiming that someone like Smoker would become the future leader of the Navy.
Seems laughable now.
.........
"Sorry to bother you."
At Cocoyashi Village's dock, Hawkeye politely nodded to Ken, indicating there's no need to see him off, and turned his gaze northeast.
Is he not here?
Hawkeye sighed.
After hastily rushing from the Grand Line to the East Sea and finally reaching the man's hometown.
Only to find out that Shano had already set out for the Grand Line.
My luck really isn't great.
The villagers of his hometown are truly hospitable, treating Hawkeye as Shano's friend, arranging a feast with good wine and food, even forcefully packing a boat with tangerine products.
The coffin boat set sail, drifting towards Inverted Mountain with the current.
Ordinarily, anyone departing from the East Sea to adventure into the Grand Line would stay in Log Town for a while, right?
Hawkeye's gaze lingered on the distant horizon.
He casually peeled open a canister, took a piece of candied tangerine, slowly chewing it, the flavor sweet and clear, hoping it brings good luck and he catches up soon.
.........
Shano stood at the steel-forged training room's center, eyes closed, adjusting his breath, tying a black cloth over his eyes.
"Are you ready, Captain?" Kuina tightened her grip on the hilt, raising her head to inquire.
"Yeah."
He nodded, "Your speed must be fast, don't mind the sword form."
"Understood, Captain!"
Kuina let out a low cry, her blade suddenly slicing towards Shano's shoulder, which he easily sidestepped, then another lateral cut, still evaded.
Shano's movements were akin to leaves in the wind, seemingly fragile yet skillfully dodging each fierce strike.
Kuina missed over ten consecutive slashes, her gaze suddenly sharpened, seizing the moment, she took advantage of Shano's backward bending and inability to swiftly shift his footing, slashing a swooping sword Qi aimed at Shano's waist.
Flying Slash!
Let's see you dodge this!
In the next instant, Kuina was left dumbfounded watching Shano's entire left-side torso muscles peculiarly contract towards the right.
Turning his upper body trunk into an exaggerated C shape.
And as the sword Qi streaked past, the body instantaneously returned to normal.
Still not working?
Shano removed the black cloth, sighed.
Since setting sail, he's been trying all sorts of methods to grasp Observation.
Kami-e ability seemed to have opened a special window in his perception world, allowing his body to automatically capture those subtle movement trails and air fluctuations.
Logically, with Kami-e as a foundation, understanding Observation should be relatively easier than for someone without basic grounding.
Yet the results defied his expectations.
Perhaps because he had pushed Kami-e too far, or due to his confidence in his physical toughness and Armament strength.
Or maybe a combination thereof.
Put simply.
The external attacks didn't threaten him enough to induce that tense limit of perception.
His body casually responded adequately enough, unable to push into the extreme edge for senses to tauten.
"I'm really weak..." Kuina lamented, "I can't even assist you in training..."
"Don't say silly things, you've become a Sword Master at sixteen, just give it some time, you could stride through the Grand Line. How are you weak?"
Shano patted the girl on the shoulder, genuinely comforting, and then gazed out the porthole, tenderly lamenting, "If there's blame, it's only because I'm too strong..."
Still running ahead of the curve.
No point expecting anything from the East Sea, guess I'll find out if the Grand Line's first half has strong players who can push me to crack Observation.
"We're about to reach Log Town, Brother! Time to prepare to land!"
Nami's voice suddenly called from outside the door.
Log Town...
Have we finally arrived?
Shano and Kuina pushed the door wide open, spotting Nami sweating profusely in the corridor, mopping the floor, while simultaneously scrubbing walls.
This was punishment for secretly leaving home and misleading them.
Before entering the Grand Line, not only was she obligated to assist Zeff by dishwashing, all the ship's chores were also her responsibility.
"So tired, Brother!"
Upon seeing Shano, Nami instinctively complained, "My waist is about to break! You promised, only punishment for these few days, once we cross Inverted Mountain, don't let me do these alone again..."
"What's with calling me brother all the time, cleaner Nami, revise it to duty terms while working!"
Shano admonished sternly.
The act truly seemed convincing. Kuina chuckled, while Nami rolled her eyes, leaning on the mop weakly, "Yes, Captain..."