Loguetown.
Smoker was leading his men in a cleanup operation against a pirate crew with a 5,000,000 Beli bounty.
He didn't personally jump into the fight.
Just like White Ghost in the past, Smoker had begun focusing on training his subordinates. He couldn't keep charging in alone forever.
After White Ghost left, the people who stayed behind were a nightmare to control. Smoker had only managed to rein them in after an enormous amount of effort.
They were arrogant. Unruly. Completely undisciplined.
At first, Smoker relied on the overwhelming advantage of his Smoke-Smoke Fruit to force them into line.
But then—damn it—some of them actually knew Haki.
If he wasn't careful, he'd take punches straight to the body. Their Haki wasn't refined, but the fact they could hit him at all was a problem—especially since Smoker himself still couldn't use Haki.
From that day on, Smoker fought those "delinquent Marines" every single day.
It took a full month of nonstop brawling before they finally behaved.
And it didn't end there.
Once rules were established, they even made a ridiculous condition:
If one day Smoker lost to them, he'd have to wash their socks.
Smoker was so furious he spent the following days beating them even harder—until, a year later, that gang of hooligans finally respected him from the heart.
Thinking about those idiots inevitably made him think of that man.
That guy was a monster too.
He had joined the Marines only one day later than Smoker, yet the gap between them became absurdly large.
Smoker still remembered what he looked like on the first day—skinny, the type you could knock out with one punch.
But his growth rate became terrifying.
At first, Smoker could still suppress him with Devil Fruit advantage.
Later, that man used nothing but stamina and toughness to grind Smoker down.
And once he mastered Haki, Smoker couldn't compete at all.
Smoker still vividly remembered that smug face.
"HAHAHA, Smoker! Didn't you bully me with your Logia before? Come on—try it now!"
A fist coated in Haki followed—and Smoker was beaten cleanly.
Afterward, that man tossed him a training manual, saying—very "generously"—that Smoker was too weak and fighting him wasn't even satisfying.
At first, Smoker trained the Six Powers, but progress was slow.
No matter what he did, he couldn't awaken Haki. He almost thought that bastard had been messing with him.
But after reaching Marine Headquarters, Smoker realized the truth:
That man had taught him sincerely, without holding anything back—almost identical to Instructor Zephyr's style.
It was just that Smoker's talent was… average.
To this day, he still hadn't fully awakened Haki. As for Six Powers, he could only use Iron Body and Finger Pistol.
When he heard that man was thriving at Headquarters, Smoker finally understood his words:
A person's body is their foundation. Build the base well, and you can walk farther.
So Smoker trained his physique like a madman. Fighting those hooligans daily refined his Six Powers tremendously.
He could feel himself brushing against the edge of Haki—but no matter what, he couldn't break through.
He had once called White Ghost via Den Den Mushi to ask about it.
White Ghost's reply?
"That thing? Keep using it. It'll come out eventually."
There was also a faster method.
A real battle.
A death battle.
Smoker looked up at the sky.
In the East Blue… where the hell was he supposed to find someone like that?
Just then, chaotic sounds echoed from the front line.
"MIGHTY MIRACLE PUNCH!"
Pirates screamed.
Then came even stranger shouts:
"BULL-HEADED MEN NEVER SURRENDER!"
"ONLY TRUE LOVE WINS!"
And finally—
"GLASS MUSCLE-MAN—!"
Smoker pressed his hand to his face.
Now he finally understood the suffering of the previous commander, Colonel Maho.
These lunatics were completely destroying Marine dignity.
Their creed was simple:
Whoever had the bigger fist made the rules.
They had beaten every Marine in the base at least once—and afterward mocked them as "weak."
As a result, the beaten Marines trained like mad, determined to reclaim their pride.
But why were the slogans getting weirder?
That was what annoyed Smoker most.
Training was fine—but did they really have to shout nonsense like "bull-headed men" while refusing to remove those ridiculous masks?
After news spread that White Ghost had fought in the New World and even defeated Kaido, the hooligans grew even more arrogant.
At least Smoker could still suppress them.
If he couldn't…
He didn't even want to imagine the chaos.
Beside him, a bespectacled young woman holding a sword sighed helplessly as well.
"Captain Smoker…" she asked.
"Is it true that Vice Admiral White Ghost was a Great Swordsman?"
Tashigi, Smoker said around his cigar, "haven't I told you? That guy isn't a Marine anymore."
"Oh—sorry, Captain Smoker!"
Smoker waved a hand.
"Back in East Blue, when he fought Shiki the Golden Lion, he was already a Great Swordsman."
"Really?!" Tashigi's eyes lit up—then dimmed.
"I was hoping to ask him for guidance once I reached Headquarters…"
"Not necessarily," Smoker said, watching the battlefield.
"Huh?"
"I got a message from Vice Admiral Gion. A week ago, White Ghost's ship entered the Calm Belt."
"Really?!"
Smoker nodded.
"He said he's traveling the world, starting from East Blue… Damn it, why am I actually a little jealous?"
"That's amazing!" Tashigi said excitedly.
"And the dual-sword swordsman Ain is coming too! I can ask them about swordsmanship!"
Smoker's eyelid twitched.
"Don't get too excited," he said.
"That guy has a weird temper. If he doesn't like you, he won't even talk."
"WHAT?!"
Smoker nodded through cigar smoke.
"That's just how he is. But…"
"But what?"
Smoker stared at her.
"…Just don't believe every rumor you hear. People exaggerate."
Tashigi nodded slowly.
"…Understood."
Smoker looked back at the sky.
Even if that man wasn't a Marine anymore…
it was impossible not to feel a little envious.
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