It was early morning and Marcus was at the marine base as he watched the hand over ceremony between Smoker and Kohariko. While both men weren't fans of wasting time on pointless things and planned a simple ceremony. The people of Loguetown had other ideas though and set up a whole elaborate thing for Kohariko to celebrate all the good he's done for them over the years. They were also setting up an even more extravagant party for the afternoon much to his chagrin.
Marcus only planned to visit for the handover ceremony since he wasn't too interested in the retirement party. He'd already given his congratulations to Kohariko and a large stack of cash, so there was no need to stick around. As for everyone else, they planned to go since Tashigi invited them a few days ago. Well, except for Zeff who declined for obvious reasons which caused Sanji and Gin to also decline. Tashigi wasn't offended since she knew the situation and couldn't promise nothing would happen if he showed up.
When the party started, Zeff, Sanji and Gin headed off to check out Zeff's ship which was basically done. Marcus on the other hand stayed behind to watch over the ship and relax. At first Marcus read the newspaper for a while, but after skimming it and not finding anything important. He took his acoustic guitar and hung out in the crows nest while he practiced. As he enjoyed a light breeze and hummed along to the song he was playing a panicked voice yelled out, "Marcus!"
Marcus set his guitar down at the same time he stood up to find Gin who was running at full speed towards the ship. Marcus quickly jumped down from the crows nest and met Gin at the gangplank. Gin was out of breath as he said, "Zeff was captured... By marines… Sanji is trying… To stop them…"
Marcus frowned slightly before he asked, "Where at?"
"Drydock for his ship."
Marcus nodded in understanding as he said, "Stay here, I'll take care of it."
Before Marcus could move, Gin grabbed his shoulder and said while still trying to catch his breath, "That new commander. He has a weird devil fruit. He turned into smoke."
Marcus nodded as he smiled before he said, "Don't worry, I can handle it."
A moment later Marcus took off at full speed and headed towards the dry dock area of the harbor. Within a minute he arrived to find a handful of marines along with Smoker. In front of them stood Sanji and Zeff who were currently in cuffs. Marcus landed next to them as he asked, "You mind telling me why you put two members of my crew in handcuffs?"
Smoker narrowed his eyes as he asked, "You have pirate scum in your crew?"
"Who's a pirate?"
Smoker pointed at Zeff as he said, "He's an infamous pirate named Red Leg Zeff, current bounty thirty five million."
"You think I would have a pirate on my ship and not turn them in for the bounty? Especially one worth so much?"
One of the marines pulled out the wanted poster for Zeff and held it up as he said, "Look, here is his poster."
Marcus didn't even glance at it as he said, "That isn't my chef, now remove their cuffs."
Smoker took a long drag of his cigar before he said, "Whether or not he is your chef doesn't matter. He is clearly Red Leg Zeff, a pirate. Which means the cuffs stay on."
"Kid, just let it go. Take Sanji with you and leave it at that. You kids don't need to get in trouble over someone like me." Zeff said with a sigh.
"Shut up old man, your opinion on this situation doesn't matter. Once you became my cook, you became my responsibility as your captain." Marcus said as he shot a glare at Zeff who didn't say anything else.
"So you're saying my grandpa can't tell a chef from a pirate? Because my grandpa met him and didn't arrest him." Marcus said as he turned back to Smoker and started to loosen up his arms.
Smoker paused for a few moments as he studied Marcus before he said, "I can't speak for Vice Admiral Garp, but as far as I can tell he's a pirate and that means he needs to be detained."
"Alright." Marcus said before his after image faded from view and the marines next to Smoker crumpled over.
Smoker whipped around as he practically growled, "What the hell do you think you're doing attacking marines?"
Marcus cracked his knuckles as he said, "It was just a love tap to knock them out…"
Marcus gave a feral grin as he added, "I wouldn't want your men to watch you get your ass kicked."
Marcus disappeared from view again and a moment later passed through Smoker who's body turned into smoke. Smoker turned to look at Marcus as he said, "Just give it up kid. You might be strong, but this isn't a fight you can win…"
"And do you really want to make the marines your enemy just for a single pirate?" Smoker asked as he took a drag from his cigar.
Marcus pulled out a set of brass knuckles that he slipped onto his hands before he said, "And I already told you he was a crew member and not a pirate. As for making the marines my enemy…"
Marcus disappeared and slammed a fist into Smoker's stomach which folded the man over as the wind was knocked out of him while he dropped his cigar. Marcus grabbed Smoker by the hair and as he held his face up he said, "I'll fight anyone who messes with my crew."
Marcus slammed his fist into Smoker's head a couple times to knock him out before he searched him for the keys to the cuffs. Once he found them, he took the cuffs off Zeff and Sanji as he asked, "Is your ship done yet?"
Zeff glanced at the knocked out marines and Smoker as he asked, "It is, but are you sure that was a good idea?"
Marcus shrugged as he said, "It's not the first time I've fought with marines and it definitely won't be the last."
Marcus then focused on Zeff as he asked, "How many people do you need to sail your ship?"
"At least three. Five would be better and eight would do best, but I could sail it with two helpers."
Marcus nodded as he said, "Alright, let's drop it in the water and then sail it over to the dock. Once there, I'll grab the others and have them meet you at the market to help carry supplies."
Zeff took one more glance at Smoker as he asked, "Are you really sure this is okay?"
Marcus glanced at Smoker before he said, "Should be fine… Worst cause scenario grandpa has to do something to smooth things over and that's only if it gets reported. I don't think Smoker would want to report he was beaten up by Garp's grandson on his first official day on the job."
It didn't take them long to go back into the dry dock and have the ship launched into the water. As they were getting ready to sail it over to the main dock Frank approached and asked, "Marcus, you want me to launch your test ship?"
"It's done?"
Frank glanced at the area where Smoker and his men were at as he said, "It could use another day or two, but it's for minor things that don't matter. The hull, mast, sails, rigging, helm and drive train are all in place."
Marcus nodded as he said, "If that's the case I'll take it. The hull and the drive train are the things that need to be tested the most."
Before Frank could take off Marcus added, "No rush, I'll be back in an hour or so."
Frank nodded as Marcus untied the lines next to him and then jumped over to the ship. It only took them twenty minutes to reach the dock and park the ship next to Marcus's and tie it off. Afterwards Zeff left with a bag of cash to get supplies while Marcus went to get everyone else.
When Marcus arrived at the retirement party he was stunned by how big it was. The people of Loguetown went all out for the celebration and while not everyone could attend the main event, it was still massive. Marcus didn't want to waste time searching through the crowd so he used geppo to fly into the air. He glanced around for a few moments before he spotted everyone near Kohariko at the main area of the party.
Marcus kicked off the air a few times before he landed next to Ace who was in the middle of eating a large piece of meat. Ace glanced towards Marcus, swallowed the food in his mouth before he asked, "Decided to join us?"
Marcus shook his head as he said, "An issue came up, we're leaving as soon as possible. Everyone needs to meet Zeff near the main market and help carry supplies to the ship."
The others close by looked towards Marcus as Ace asked, "What happened?"
"Just a little fight, but we should get out of here before it turns into a bigger issue."
Ace frowned for a moment before he nodded and said, "Alright, I'll get everyone to the market."
Marcus smiled as he said, "Thanks, I'm gonna check if Tashigi wants to join us again."
As Ace started gathering everyone to leave, Marcus moved towards where Kohariko was seated with some marines, Tashigi and some important townspeople. Kohariko noticed his approach first and nodded slightly before he asked, "I thought you said you weren't coming?"
"Had an issue come up and we need to leave the island. I wanted to check if Tashigi wanted to stay or come with us since your party is still going on."
Kohariko frowned slightly as he asked, "What happened?"
"It's nothing serious and Smoker can explain it to you later… But for now we need to head out."
Kohariko nodded slowly before he turned to Tashigi and said, "You don't have to stay, go have fun with your friends. I'll see you when you come back."
Tashigi nodded with a smile before she said, "Thanks uncle Kohariko!"
Tashigi quickly got up and rushed off to join everyone else as Marcus flashed a peace sign and said, "Congratulations again on the retirement, I'll see you next time."
"Thanks… And make sure you protect Tashigi brat." Kohariko said as Marcus faded from view.
Kohariko clicked his tongue before he turned back to the conversation at the table. Marcus meanwhile was a blur as he rushed back to the dock. When he arrived he found Smoker slowly getting up as he shook his head to clear it. Marcus didn't hesitate and rushed the man as he said, "Nothing personal."
Smoker glanced up in time to see Marcus's fist right in front of his face covered with brass knuckles before it slammed into his temple. Smoker dropped like a puppet with its strings cut and Marcus quickly checked the other marines. They were still out cold, so he rushed into the dry dock and found Frank next to the test ship.
It was already in the water and Frank was next to the only line tying it off. Frank smiled at Marcus as he said, "I'll start work on the things I know will work, but you need to put this thing through its paces. The drive train and the hull need to be tested the most, but let me know how the sail and rigging work for you."
Marcus nodded before he untied the ship and said, "Don't worry, I'll give her a good shake down and call you once a week with updates."
As Marcus jumped onto his new ship Frank added, "Try not to sink it and bring it back in the next six months so I can examine it properly."
"Sounds good Frank, and thanks again."
Frank waved Marcus off as he said, "Good luck!"
All three ships ended up setting sail a little over an hour later without issue. Whether Smoker let the issue drop or he was still knocked out, Marcus didn't know. But he wasn't worried about it, since he highly doubted Smoker would chase after them like he did Luffy in the original series. And if he did, Marcus would just call Garp and see if he could help out since it was such a small issue. Otherwise Marcus was prepared to beat Smoker up till he dropped the matter of Zeff being a former pirate.
It wasn't until the next day that something happened about his little issue with Smoker. Garp called him and asked, "What the hell do you think you're doing attacking marines, you little brat?"
"I didn't attack anyone… I had a disagreement with some marines and I used what you taught me to win the argument." Marcus said in a proud tone.
"Huh? That Smoker kid said you knocked him and his men out."
"Exactly! Isn't that what you do whenever you want to win an argument?" Marcus asked before he chuckled slightly.
Garp let out a loud belly laugh for a few moments before he said, "You brat, I don't do that… Anyways stay away from Loguetown for a few months. Smoker's not too happy he was knocked out by a brat like you. I told him if he could be beaten by you then he needed to train more."
"I only beat him because I used my sea stone brass knuckles on him. If I tried the same thing with haki I don't think it would have worked so well." Marcus said as he placed his snail on the helm before he reached over to adjust his sails.
"It will come with more practice, just keep it up. I expect to see some improvement the next time I visit."
Marcus smiled slightly as he said, "I think you'll be surprised the next time you stop by. I'm gonna start Luffy and a couple of others on observation training soon…"
"Actually I have a slight problem, I'm pretty sure I've reached my limit in East Blue, nothing here is a challenge to me…" Marcus added after a few moments of thought.
"You're just now learning haki and that takes years to even start to master. Worry about training that for now. It also improves with a stronger body… Have you maxed out that training harness yet?"
"Not yet, but I started on the fourth level before anyone else and I'll be on the fifth level soon enough. I've been pushing myself to the limit every chance I get." Marcus said as he thought over his recent training and spars against Mihawk.
"Good, focus on getting stronger and I'll figure out something to challenge you with the next time I visit."
"Alright, thanks grandpa… And thanks for handling that little thing with Smoker." Marcus said with a smile.
"Bah, you're my grandson. As long as you don't become a pirate or start acting like your dad I can handle it… Stay safe brat, I'll call you when I'm on my way back to visit." Garp said before he hung up.
Marcus shook his head and hung up his den den mushi as he said, "You too grandpa."
After his call with Garp, Marcus smiled to himself since everything worked out the way he thought it would. Even though he was pretty sure Smoker might hold a slight grudge against him. But if that was the case, he could probably use that as an excuse to spar against him next time they meet. And Marcus could definitely use the opportunity to learn how to fight against more devil fruit users, since Luffy wasn't a good opponent for him currently…