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Luffy noticed Smoker's sudden silence and sighed, scratching his head. "You don't know either? Well, never mind!"
As Luffy turned to leave, Smoker spoke up, his tone unexpectedly direct. "If you head in the direction of the smoke, you'll find the execution platform."
Luffy beamed. "Thanks!" he said, before sprinting off without a second thought toward the column of smoke rising in the distance.
Watching him go, Smoker shook his head slightly. "Just a kid… How could he remind me of him?" he muttered to himself, dismissing the thought as he continued toward the port.
By the time Smoker reached the port, he was greeted by an unexpected sight: utter chaos. The area was littered with unconscious pirates, broken crates, and overturned barrels.
"What… happened here?" Smoker asked, his voice sharp as his eyes scanned the wreckage.
A Marine soldier in plain clothes approached him and saluted. "Captain Smoker, reporting in! A young man claiming to be part of a 'Private Marine' defeated all the pirates in the port!"
"Private Marine?" Smoker frowned. He'd never heard of such a thing. In his mind, anyone bold enough to fight pirates in Marine territory had to be part of the official ranks, or at least an ally.
Shaking off his curiosity for the moment, Smoker barked out orders. "Tie up every pirate here! I want them locked down before they wake up."
As the Marines moved to secure the defeated pirates, another soldier ran up to Smoker, handing him a fresh bounty poster.
"Colonel! The boy who just asked for directions—he's a newly wanted criminal! Monkey D. Luffy, bounty: 30 million berries. He's currently the most wanted pirate in the entire East Blue!"
Smoker's eyes widened as he stared at the poster. The straw hat boy wasn't just a passing traveler—he was a pirate. And not just any pirate—one with an astronomical bounty for this part of the sea.
"So that's him..." Smoker murmured, his grip tightening on the poster. He turned to his men. "Secure the port. I'll deal with the Straw Hat personally."
With that, Smoker dashed off toward the execution platform, a sense of urgency in his stride.
Meanwhile, on the Sea…
A ship flying the pirate flag of the Buggy Pirates docked at a smaller port in Loguetown. The crew aboard was a motley mix of Buggy's men, freshly escaped from Marine custody, and a new addition: Alvida, now transformed into a slender beauty thanks to the powers of the Slip-Slip Fruit.
Though most of the Buggy Pirates had been captured after their defeat at the hands of Luffy and Ikki, Buggy himself had narrowly escaped, blown away by the chaos of battle. True to his cunning nature, he had launched a daring solo mission to rescue his crew from the Marine branch in Shields Town.
For a Devil Fruit user like Buggy, who had once sailed in the Grand Line, breaking his men out of an East Blue Marine branch was a trivial feat. After regrouping, he set his sights on revenge.
Buggy's journey brought him into contact with Alvida, who shared a grudge against Luffy and Ikki. The two quickly formed an alliance, pooling their resources for a trip to Loguetown.
"Buggy, are you sure Straw Hat and his crew will come here?" Alvida asked, her voice carrying a tone of doubt as she gazed at the ships moored in the port.
Buggy's signature laugh boomed across the deck. "Gyahahaha! Of course! If that brat wants to enter the Grand Line, he has to stop here first! This is Loguetown—the place where it all begins and ends!"
Alvida nodded, her lips curling into a sly smile. "Then we'll wait for him. He won't get away this time."
With confidence brimming, Buggy and Alvida led their crew into Loguetown, heading for the heart of the town to begin their hunt.
At the third port in Loguetown, Ikki's attention was immediately drawn to a familiar ship flying the unmistakable jolly roger of the Buggy Pirates.
"Huh? Buggy's ship? Weren't they all captured?" he muttered to himself.
It didn't take long for Ikki to piece together the situation. While Buggy's crew had been detained after their previous defeat, Buggy himself had evaded capture. Given his cunning and experience, it wouldn't have been difficult for him to break his crew out of Marine custody.
Approaching the docked ship, Ikki found it mostly deserted, with only a few crew members lazily standing guard. Without hesitation, he dispatched the guards in quick succession, their defeat taking no more than a few deft moves.
Standing aboard the now-unoccupied ship, Ikki noticed Buggy's Special Cannonballs in the armory. Grinning to himself, he lit one and set it in position. Moments later, the deafening roar of an explosion echoed through the port as Buggy's ship was reduced to a smoldering wreck, debris raining into the water.
At the same time, Smoker was en route to the execution platform in search of Luffy when the explosion from Port No. 3 stopped him in his tracks.
"What was that?" Smoker demanded, turning to the Marine following him.
"Uh… not sure, sir," the sailor replied nervously. "Judging by the size of the explosion, it's probably pirates."
Smoker scowled, the cigars in his mouth smoldering as he deliberated. Though he despised pirates and prioritized capturing them, his duty to protect civilians always came first. A blast of that magnitude could easily have endangered people nearby.
"Let's check it out," Smoker decided, pivoting toward the source of the explosion.
When Smoker arrived at Port No. 3, he found a ship ablaze and rapidly sinking into the water. Several pirates had been tied up and left near the edge of the dock, groaning in pain but otherwise incapacitated.
One of the Marines accompanying him noticed a figure walking away from the scene and pointed him out. "Captain Smoker, it's him! That young man—the one who claims to be part of the Private Marines!"
Smoker squinted at the departing figure. "Hey! You there, stop!" he called out.
Ikki paused mid-step, turning around with a confused expression. His eyes met Smoker's, immediately noting the Marine's distinctive white hair and the two cigars clenched between his teeth.
"Are you Marine?" Smoker asked gruffly, eyeing the boy suspiciously.
Ikki nodded, pulling out a document and handing it over. "I'm Admiral Ikki of the Private Marine Corps!" he declared confidently.
Smoker's eyebrow twitched at the title. While Smoker himself held the rank of Captain, he'd once been a Commodore before being demoted to the East Blue for defying superior officers and disobeying orders. Hearing this boy introduce himself as a "Admiral" made Smoker's expression flicker with a mix of bemusement and skepticism.
Taking the letter, Smoker inspected it carefully. To his surprise, the document was legitimate, complete with the Marine headquarters' official seal.
What kind of bored superior would authorize something like a "Private Marine"? Smoker wondered, his irritation barely masked. Still, as long as Ikki was fighting pirates and not causing harm to civilians, Smoker figured they could at least be considered allies of convenience.
Handing the letter back to Ikki, Smoker asked, "Was it you who blew up that pirate ship just now?"
Ikki nodded. "Yes, it belonged to the Buggy Pirates. Their captain's bounty is 15 million berries. I plan to capture them all next."
Smoker smirked slightly, recognizing Ikki's determination. "Good. I was already heading this way to catch a troublesome little pirate myself. Let's go together."
With that, the two Marines—one official, the other "private"—set off side by side, each with their own targets but now working toward a common goal.