Whoosh—!
Just then, a column of white smoke suddenly shot up into the sky in the distance.
In the blink of an eye, it crashed down onto a street not far from Buggy the Clown.
The smoke quickly condensed into a human figure as it landed.
The surrounding people, witnessing this, instantly panicked and scrambled away from the port.
Smoker, who had a cigar clenched between his teeth, paid no attention to the crowd's reaction.
His expression was grim, brows tightly furrowed as he growled at the red-nosed pirate:
"Buggy the Clown! Sneaking into Loguetown with all these people—what exactly are you planning?!"
Buggy had initially panicked upon seeing the White Hunter appear, but hearing that question sparked an idea.
He immediately forced a sinister smile, pretending to be calm as he said:
"Yahahahaha! So it's the White Hunter. You're asking what I'm planning?"
"I'm simply taking my crew to the Grand Line, that's all."
"What, are you trying to stop me?"
A cold gleam flickered in Smoker's eyes at those words. His right hand began turning into white smoke, his whole body ready to strike.
He stared hard at Buggy, his tone deadly serious:
"You're planning to head to the Grand Line? Keep dreaming!"
"You've come to Loguetown—then you're staying in Loguetown!"
As he finished, he moved to attack without hesitation.
But Buggy remained composed, suddenly shouting:
"You think I'd dare come here without making preparations?!"
"Huh?!" Smoker froze, cigar clenched tightly between his teeth.
Seeing this, Buggy inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. With a smug smirk, he continued:
"I'll be honest—just in case you Marines tried to stop us…"
"I've already had my men plant my custom-made bombs all over the area around this port!"
"If you dare interfere with our departure, the subordinates I've hidden will set off all the bombs immediately!"
"When that happens, this entire area around Loguetown's port—will be blown to smithereens!"
As he finished, Buggy looked at the now grim-faced Smoker and sneered:
"I wonder, White Hunter—do you care more about capturing a pirate like me, or the lives of all those innocent civilians?"
"Yahahahahahaha~!"
"You damn bastard…!!"
Smoker, enraged by Buggy's arrogance, bit through his cigar, killing intent blazing in his eyes.
Even though he strongly suspected Buggy was bluffing and there might not be any bombs at all…
The confidence in Buggy's expression made him hesitate. He couldn't recklessly make a move.
Smoker took two deep breaths, but his heart was still in turmoil. He couldn't gamble with innocent lives!
His fists clenched and unclenched, frustration and fury gnawing at him.
The fact that a pirate was using civilians as leverage made him sick to his core.
"Colonel Smoker!"
Just then, Sergeant Tashigi arrived with the rest of the Marines, calling out loudly.
"Don't come any closer!"
Worried their actions might provoke Buggy, Smoker quickly raised his hand to halt the approaching Marines.
"Eh? Colonel Smoker?!"
Tashigi stopped abruptly, surprised and confused by his reaction.
Smoker's face was dark, his gaze locked onto Buggy, who now stood on his ship with a smug, triumphant expression.
Lowering his voice, Smoker quickly relayed Buggy's threat to the others.
"What?! Buggy the Clown actually did something like that?!"
Tashigi's eyes widened in shock.
She gripped her sword tightly, glaring at Buggy with clenched teeth:
"That despicable bastard…"
The rest of the Marines now understood why Smoker had stopped them earlier.
Meanwhile, Buggy was secretly ecstatic—his improvised stalling tactic had worked like a charm.
At that moment, Alvida, standing on the deck behind him, shouted:
"Buggy, the ship's ready to set sail!"
She couldn't help but think to herself—
If that red-nosed clown hadn't mentioned that he'd once met Luffy, and overheard him say he was heading for the Grand Line…
And if he hadn't proposed they go ahead and ambush Luffy there, instead of wandering aimlessly in search of him…
She would've never agreed to sail all the way to the Grand Line with him.
Hearing her words, Buggy's eyes lit up with excitement.
He quickly made a series of discreet hand signals behind his back, instructing his crew to set sail quietly.
On the opposite side, Smoker, never one to stay passive for long, saw that his team understood the situation.
He turned back to face Buggy, ready to say something—
But before he could speak, a panicked voice rang out behind the group.
"Colonel Smoker! Colonel Smoker!!"
"Urgent intel from Marine HQ! You must report to the archives immediately!"
Smoker turned sharply, surprised, as a Marine officer rushed over, breathless.
"What's so urgent? What intel?" he demanded.
The officer, gasping for breath, shook his head quickly:
"I don't know the details—HQ just said you must personally receive it right away!"
"Hm?! I have to go in person?"
Smoker frowned, realizing this intel was probably no trivial matter.
"Damn it!"
Then it hit him.
He spun around toward Buggy—
Only to see that the clown had already set sail, now standing at the stern, laughing gleefully with his head thrown back.
Smoker's expression twisted in fury. He'd been played.
Even if he had suspected the bombs were fake, it still enraged him to be toyed with like that. Veins bulged on his forehead.
He prepared to turn into smoke and launch after the fleeing ship—
But the Marine officer hurriedly stepped in front of him:
"Colonel Smoker! Forget that guy for now! Marine HQ insists you report to the archives immediately!"
"The Den Den Mushi call is still connected—and it's Fleet Admiral Sengoku on the line! You cannot keep him waiting!"
"Damn it…" Smoker froze, his face darkening further.
"Tashigi! Take your team and search every inch of the port. Find out if there really are any bombs!"
After barking the order, Smoker transformed into smoke with a loud whoosh, shooting skyward without another word.
"Yes, sir!"
Tashigi shouted after him, not caring whether he heard her.
Then she turned and led the Marines in a thorough search of the port.
Of course, they found nothing.
In the end, the Marines could only leave, fuming at having been so thoroughly tricked.
Moments later—
The port bustled to life once more.
A medium-sized ship slowly approached and docked.
Aboard, a man named Will tossed down the gangplank and stepped ashore.
Ignoring the curious stares from those around him—
He looked at the lively port before him, smiled, and murmured under his breath:
"Finally… Loguetown, the famed city of beginnings and ends."
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