"So it was that bastard!"
BANG!!!
With a thunderous crack, Smoker slammed his hand down on the desk, splitting its surface wide open.
He was livid.
After several days of fruitless searching at the 16th Branch, they finally got a lead—albeit not from the branch itself, but from interrogating captured pirates.
One of them mentioned something they'd overheard during a drunken tax collection visit by Nezumi.
According to their testimony, Nezumi had slurred:
> "What're you so scared of? I've got Vice Admiral Val backing me, and behind him... is the World Government!"
> "So just pay your taxes on time, and you'll be fine!"
Twin cigars clamped between his teeth, smoke thickened the air in the room like a storm cloud.
Smoker was deep in thought.
Not about giving up. No.
He was thinking—wondering if there was still any true justice left within the Navy.
Back in the day, he'd been one of the top cadets in his elite training cohort.
And yet, here he was—exiled to the East Blue for daring to speak against the higher-ups, for not turning a blind eye to corruption.
Sure, both he and Hina held the same rank of Captain. But a Captain in a remote sea branch wasn't the same as one stationed at HQ.
Not even close.
In weight. In future prospects. In everything.
After a long silence, he finally picked up the Den Den Mushi.
He'd made his decision: to believe in the Navy one last time.
And instead of calling his direct superior, Vice Admiral Val, he bypassed the chain of command—
—and called Fleet Admiral Sengoku directly.
Brrurururu...
Click.
"Sengoku speaking."
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, this is Smoker."
"Smoker? What's going on?"
Sengoku sounded surprised.
By protocol, Smoker wasn't supposed to contact him directly. Any such communication was supposed to be routed through the chain of command.
And his direct superior?
Of course—it was Val.
Given that Tashigi's ship was still stuck in the Calm Belt, Smoker was currently leading the East Blue investigation.
Sengoku quickly pieced it together.
Smoker must have uncovered something serious—something that involved Val.
"Fleet Admiral, I've uncovered some leads regarding the East Blue situation."
"Speak."
As expected.
Sengoku sighed internally.
Not because he didn't want Smoker to find anything. But because—
—whatever Smoker had uncovered... it wouldn't change a thing.
The Five Elders had already issued a direct order: protect Val at all costs.
Even as Fleet Admiral, Sengoku couldn't override them.
Smoker spent the next ten minutes detailing everything he had uncovered.
The longer Sengoku listened, the deeper his frown became.
He had initially believed Val to be acting on his own. But based on Smoker's findings...
Val was just a front. The real puppeteers were high-ranking officials within the World Government.
That explained it.
The Five Elders weren't shielding Val for personal reasons. They were shielding themselves.
Sengoku nodded grimly.
"Smoker."
"Yes, Fleet Admiral!"
"The official investigator is already en route. Cease all operations and hand over everything to them."
"Is it Hina?"
"No... it's Vice Admiral Val."
Smoker's eyes went wide in disbelief.
He had just reported Val's involvement—and now they wanted him to hand over the case to the very man he was investigating?
"Fleet Admiral, I can't accept this!"
"This is a direct order from the Five Elders. You will accept it!" Sengoku barked.
He had always thought highly of Smoker. A rare Logia user with unwavering integrity.
But the problem was—he was too upright.
Just like that brat Luo Lan.
Keep going like this, and even a powerful Logia user like him would eventually be eliminated by the World Government.
That's why Sengoku had sent him to the East Blue in the first place.
Give it seven or eight years. Let him mature, grow more tactful. Then bring him back to HQ when the time was right.
But clearly, years had passed... and Smoker hadn't changed a bit.
"Fleet Admiral, I'll accept whatever punishment you decide, but I refuse to compromise!"
"Smoker, are you disobeying a direct order?!"
"I'm simply doing what a Marine should do. Until I receive a formal written order, I will not halt my investigation!"
Formal order.
That meant an official document passed down through the chain of command—not a verbal directive over a Den Den Mushi.
Technically, Smoker was right.
Of course, no one else in the Navy would ever dare treat Sengoku's words as anything less than a command.
Before Sengoku could reply, Smoker slammed the receiver down.
"Someone, come in!"
"Fleet Admiral!"
A messenger burst in the door.
"Send an expedited order immediately. Strip Captain Smoker of all duties, demote him to Seaman First Class, and reassign him to the 157th Branch!"
"Yes, Admiral!"
The messenger saluted and rushed off.
Only after leaving the room did his shocked expression break through.
What the hell did Captain Smoker do?!
Stripped of all rank and authority. Demoted to a grunt. And reassigned to—
—the 157th Branch?
That Marine retirement home?!
---
The Navy's message system moved into overdrive.
Within just thirty minutes, an official document—signed and sealed through all proper channels—arrived in front of Smoker.
Delivered personally by his second-in-command, a major.
"Captain... this—"
"I know."
The major had already seen the contents.
The number of seals and signatures was absurd—even the janitorial department had stamped it.
The message itself was even more outrageous.
Dismissal. Demotion. Exile.
What in the world had Smoker done?
"Cqptain, this order has to be forged. Even the cleaning department signed off! That's ridiculous!"
"No... this is real. It came directly from the Fleet Admiral."
Smoker shook his head with a bitter smile.
He hadn't expected Sengoku to act so quickly.
Just to leave no room for rebuttal, every department had been made to stamp it. Even the janitors.
He let out a long sigh.
"Until the new branch commander arrives, you're in charge of Loguetown."
"Also... prepare a ship for me. I'm heading to Rhodes Island."
With that, Smoker turned and walked out of the office.
Behind him, the major stood straight, saluting—
—and did not lower his hand for a very, very long time.