Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
When Roy’s warship docked at the harbor, it naturally drew a great deal of attention.
After all, the massive corpse of a sea beast towed behind the ship was quite a sight to behold.
“I’m heading to Vice Admiral Bilos to deliver the mission report.” “Hans, take Squad Two and escort this fellow to the prison.
Once Headquarters verifies his identity, he’ll be sent to Impel Down along with the rest of the scum we’ve rounded up recently.” “Fal, take Squad One down to town and sell the sea beast meat.
And while you’re at it, set up a celebration banquet at our usual spot.” Roy spoke with easy familiarity; this clearly wasn’t his first time giving these orders.
“Yes, sir!” two voices echoed in unison.
At the mention of a “celebration banquet,” the eyes of the Marines in the Custody Unit lit up instantly.
Satisfied, Roy stepped off the warship on his own, planning to report to his superior.
However…
“Hey!” He had barely reached Oris Plaza when a familiar voice hit his ears.
Hearing it, Roy inwardly cursed.
He turned on his heel to flee, but before he could take a single step, clouds of thick white smoke coiled around him, sealing off every escape route.
“What do you think about what I brought up earlier?” With that question, a figure gradually condensed out of the swirling smoke.
Upon hearing the man’s words, Roy answered without a second thought, “Not a fan.
Smoker, I’m not leaving the Custody Unit!” That signature white hair, bulging muscles, the cigars stuck permanently in his mouth and coat pockets, and the unique jitte slung across his back all made his identity unmistakable.
Marine Headquarters Commander, user of the Logia Plume-Plume Fruit, “White Hunter” Smoker.
“Roy Amos!” Biting down on his cigar, Smoker growled furiously, “You bastard…
stop joking around with me!” “Who’s joking with you?” Roy grumbled, shooting him an annoyed look.
He knew full well what Smoker was after.
In truth, Smoker and he had joined the Marines in the same recruit class.
Naturally, faced with a Logia user right before his eyes, Roy wasn’t about to pass up the opportunity to gain his ability.
So during recruit training and their apprentice missions, Roy had cultivated a good relationship with Smoker, becoming genuine friends.
However, once boot camp ended, their paths diverged completely.
Riding on his Logia powers and formidable strength, Smoker naturally became a prized elite groomed by HQ, even earning a spot in former Admiral “Black Arm” Zephyr’s Elite Training Camp.
Roy, on the other hand, had decisively chosen to join the Custody Unit.
As a result, despite starting together, there was now a full two-rank gap between them.
And that was precisely why Smoker was here.
He was already a HQ Commander, and according to HQ rules, once a Marine officer made Captain, they faced two paths: either join the fleet of a Vice Admiral or Admiral, or be stationed in one of the Four Seas to command a local Marine branch.
The former was the standard choice for most Captains; serving under high-ranking officers meant faster promotions.
However, as one of the most notoriously stubborn loose cannons in all of Marine Headquarters, Smoker had no interest in playing subordinate to some Vice Admiral.
Thus, he had already made up his mind—he would go to Loguetown, his birthplace, to head the Marine branch there.
Which brought him straight to Roy.
“I told you, I need an exceptional adjutant,” Smoker said, glaring dark-faced at Roy.
“And I told you, I’m not going,” Roy replied solemnly.
“If I remember right, I already recommended Ensign Tashigi to you.
She’s a fine Marine…” Leave the Custody Unit?
If he left, who was going to supply him with the Devil Fruits he needed?
*WHAM!* A fierce wind tore through the air, rushing straight toward Roy’s ears the moment those words left his mouth.
*Whoosh!* Roy’s figure vanished from the spot instantly.
Smoker’s jitte slammed violently into the flagstones.
*Crack, crack, crack!* Under Smoker’s monstrous force, the immaculate white ground of Oris Plaza fractured, giving way to a deep, jagged crater.
Passing Marines jumped back in alarm.
“What’s going on?!” “An enemy attack?!” Some even instinctively unslung their flintlocks and racked the bolts.
Yet what followed left them even more stunned.
Having just added to Marineford’s ground maintenance workload with a single strike, Smoker didn’t pause for even a microsecond.
“White Blow!” He roared low, sending a barrage of dense white smoke fists erupting from his body, flying relentlessly toward Roy!
“Hey, hey, hey!
Smoker, what are you doing?!
Have you lost your mind?!” Yet amid that relentless barrage of flying fists, Roy danced and bobbed through the tightest gaps.
Not a single one of Smoker’s smoke fists managed to graze him.
[Rabbit-Rabbit Fruit, Snow Rabbit Form LV1 – Equipped – Grants partial traits of a snow rabbit.
Overall physical attributes enhanced, with additional boosts to hearing and speed.] [Rat-Rat Fruit, Gray Rat Form LV1 – Equipped – Grants partial traits of a gray rat.
Overall physical attributes enhanced, with additional boosts to agility.] Smoker ignored his complaints completely.
“White Launch!” While raining smoke punches on Roy, Smoker’s lower body dissolved into surging plumes of white, propelling his upper torso right into Roy’s face.
Raising his jitte high, he brought it smashing down once more!
“Are you serious?!” Roy gasped.
He thrust out a hand.
Inside the Fruit Encyclopedia, his equipped abilities swapped instantly.
[Ox-Ox Fruit, Giant Rhino Form LV1] [Strong-Strong Fruit LV1] The raw strength capable of sending a sea beast flying surged back into Roy’s body.
Reaching out with a bare hand, Roy caught Smoker’s jitte dead in its tracks!
*BOOM!* The immense impact shattered the ground beneath Roy’s feet once more.
Yet even under such staggering force, Roy’s posture remained rock solid, unyielding as a mountain.
Looking at Smoker, he said grimly, “Keep this up and I won’t hold back!” “Bring it!” Smoker barked, his arm liquefying into white smoke again as he lunged forward.
“You bastard!” Roy gritted his teeth.
Abandoning all hesitation, he clamped one hand tightly onto Smoker’s jitte while pulling back his other hand, opening it into a palm.
In that split second, the ability inside the Fruit Encyclopedia switched again.
[Human-Human Fruit, Buddha Form LV1 – Comprehensive physical enhancement; enables emission of minor shockwaves from palms.] A golden shockwave burst violently from his open palm!
*BOOM!* A deep trench tore across the ground.
Smoker’s smoke body was completely shattered and blown backward by Roy’s palm strike, tumbling through the air before coalescing back into human form far across the plaza.
The surrounding Marines were blasted off their feet by the sheer gale of the shockwave.
Several nearby soldiers instinctively raised their rifles, believing an enemy raid had begun.
Only when they caught sight of the two figures standing at the center of the crater—both clad in Marine uniforms—did their jaws drop in shock.
“So strong…
They’re like monsters!
Who are those guys?!” “I know the white-haired one—that’s ‘White Hunter’ Smoker!” “The Logia user?
That wild dog famous around Headquarters for ignoring orders?” “Who’s the other guy, actually keeping up with him in a fight?!” “Is he an officer from the elite forces?!” Murmurs buzzed through the crowd.
Power always commanded attention wherever it went.
And undoubtedly, even in Marine Headquarters, clashes of this caliber were far from a common sight for ordinary rank-and-file Marines.
Smoker didn’t care about the chatter.
Biting down on his cigar, his expression remained dark.
“Your physical toughness and that ‘Surge Fist Style’ of yours…
You’ve gotten stronger again.” Smoker considered himself one of the people in Marine Headquarters who knew Roy best.
Because of that, he had long known how terrifyingly gifted Roy was in terms of speed, raw power, and reaction speed.
In fact, if he hadn’t personally seen Roy swimming in the ocean with his own eyes, Smoker would have bet money that Roy was a Devil Fruit user.
On top of that, he had witnessed Roy’s “Surge Fist Style” before.
According to Roy, it was a martial art that “harnessed invisible vibrations in the air when throwing a blow to release a shockwave.” Smoker had secretly tried practicing it many times, but he couldn’t figure out for the life of him how Roy pulled it off.
Not that it mattered.
There were plenty of bizarre eccentrics across the seas; he’d even heard rumors that someone in the Revolutionary Army could pierce solid rock just by winking.
What truly mattered to Smoker was that he couldn’t fathom Roy’s choices!
Most Marines assumed that anyone who voluntarily applied for the Custody Unit was a coward who shrank from danger.
But Smoker knew Roy wasn’t a coward.
“Do you remember that little girl from Keshira Village?” Smoker muttered around his cigar.
“To get back her mother’s medical money, you dragged me across an entire sea area.
You carved a path of blood through a pirate-infested town with your own two hands just to catch those bastards!” “I saw your sense of justice with my own eyes, Roy.
Tell me, what the hell are you thinking?!” “With power like yours, why are you refusing to go to the front lines and make a name for yourself?
Why rot away in the Custody Unit as a mere Lieutenant?!” he growled.
Facing Smoker’s angry questioning, Roy remained calm.
“Justice?” He pulled a flask from his sleeve and took a heavy swig.
It looked valiant and heroic—except judging by the dark, bubbly liquid splashing out, he was clearly drinking cola.
He grinned.
“What you saw back then wasn’t my ‘justice,’ Smoker.
That was just basic human decency.” “Besides, I’m not an ambitious guy.
I like it just fine in the Custody Unit.” Hearing that, Smoker blew his top.
“You bastard…” Thick smoke erupted from his arms as he braced to throw another punch.
If words couldn’t reach him, fists would!
That was Smoker’s way.
Just then— “Smoker.” A voice interrupted him, freezing Smoker mid-motion.
“Woah!” “Who’s that beauty?” “That’s Commander Hina, ‘Black Cage’!” Excited murmurs rippled through the crowd of Marines, pink hearts practically sprouting in the eyes of several onlookers.
Stepping out from the crowd was a tall, slender woman with pink hair wearing a Marine officer coat.
“Hina just returned from a mission and finds you causing trouble again.
Hina is deeply disappointed.” A slender cigarette dangled from her lips as she looked at Smoker with resignation.
“Your previous disciplinary action hasn’t even been lifted yet, has it?” As Smoker’s long-time friend who constantly had to clean up his messes, she clearly had plenty to complain about.
Though Smoker lost a bit of his momentum, he gritted his teeth and blustered, “Hmph!
It wasn’t my fault this time.
It was this bastard—” He promptly washed his hands of blame, turning around to enlist Hina in condemning the unambitious slacker.
However, when he turned back—where Roy had been standing, there wasn’t a soul left in sight.
“He ran off again?!
That bastard!” Realizing Roy had slipped away, veins popped on Smoker’s forehead as he clenched his fists in rage.
Before he could give chase, a ring of pitch-black iron bars erupted around him, trapping him in place.
From behind him, Hina’s voice carried a dangerous edge: “Trying to run?
Explain yourself clearly—what kind of crazy episode are you throwing this time?
Otherwise…
Hina is going to get really angry!” Smoker’s expression finally panicked.