It was Gin and Pearl, and they learned that Smoker had forced both of them into the Marines, thus saving them from several years in Impel Down prison.
They didn't thank him or express any gratitude, and Bill suspected that instead of trying to improve, the two had simply swapped one captain for another.
However, he had hope that over time they would change, and if not, then everything would simply return to normal.
Arriving at the station, Masterson took the girls shopping, while Bill stayed to wait for Smoker.
It wasn't long before the air was filled with the smell of ozone, and as smoke entered the building, Bill's eyes turned black.
It seemed that the last few months had been as rewarding for Smoker as they had been financially successful for Bill.
As Bill materialized from the smoke cloud, he noticed that the entity behind Smoker had become more distinct. It was a swirling tornado that, no matter how Bill looked at it, always followed his gaze, as if it knew it was being looked at.
After exchanging greetings, Smoker called out to a man named Mashikaku and said that once he left, the man would become the new captain and would be in charge of the squad. He, Tashigi, Gin, and Pearl would be transferred to the Marine Corps' Fifth Squad in the New World.
Having never heard of the G-5, Bill asked why Smoker had chosen them, to which the captain replied, "I need to keep my targets close."
Smoker also mentioned that Vice Admiral Vergo was an expert in Busoshoku Haki and could help him strengthen his Devil Fruit's power.
As he said this, Bill was slightly surprised when Smoker's hand turned grey and the entity behind him glowed a little brighter.
Bill hadn't tried, but he was confident that he could still neutralize his power, although it would be more difficult now that Smoker had learned to use Haki.
After saying goodbye, Bill didn't know when he would see Captain Smoker and his lieutenants again, but he wished them luck and said that he would always be ready to help if needed.
Even despite Smoker's harshness, Bill could not underestimate the help he had given him, and he would not forget it.
After leaving the building, Bill found Masterson and the girls in the gun shop and saw Yoko twirling a war hammer in her hands.
The twelve year old girl may not have been as strong as Bill had been at her age, but her determination was unquestionable.
It took her only four months to learn how to do Meditative Push-ups until the bell rang, and she could also swim and run better than many of the men Bill had seen on Captain Hina's ship.
It was all a result of her dedication to the cause. The girl did not take up the sword, but adored Sasha and admired Bill, wanting to become a Marine hero like her father.
That's why when she approached Bill with a hammer and a smile on her face, he couldn't refuse her.
Deep down he knew it wasn't a great idea, but in a world where superpowers existed and crime ran rampant outside of the cities, Bill could only pray that he was doing the right thing.
Hoping he was not mistaken, he bought her a hammer.
In this vast world where so much time was spent traveling, Bill had perfected his routine and over the last two months had repeatedly reworked the plans for the large smelter they were going to build to melt down scrap metal.
It was an ingenious furnace that ran on environmentally friendly fuel - hydrogen difluoride.
What made this machine special was that it could be used for more than just melting steel. With a little tweaking and enough power, Bill could create bio-organic metals and even sea stone alloys.
Bill wasn't sure he could create pure sea stone with his kiln, but he was confident he could recreate the sea stone used in Marine Corps ship hulls, and perhaps even achieve gun-grade clarity.
While he was busy with such projects, Masterson followed Nelson's advice and, having mastered the Iron Body technique, made significant progress in the Shaving and Moon Step techniques.
Yoko continued to train every day, and each day Bill saw her getting closer and closer to feeling her own blood. Bill was amazed at how much the twelve-year-old girl had changed in less than a year.
Carol was almost always reading and always showed an interest in mechanical systems, which the old engineers could explain to her. And Nelson lost another thirty-four kilograms.
Apart from routine tasks, the journey from Loachtown to the ruined island and finally to Little Eastern Blue was uneventful. Bill collected hundreds of tons of scrap metal and gave orders for the cars to be sent to the island.
He also learned that Straw Hat Luffy and his crew had been spotted in the Grand Line, but Captain Maynard's investigation resulted in the 30 million beli bounty being quietly removed.
Bill didn't know if Monkey D. Garp was involved, but Nelson said he'd never heard of anything like that happening before.
Typically, if a person was given a false bounty, the only way to escape it was to sign a gag order and be recruited into the Marine Corps.