"..."
Marine Captain Smoker, cigar clenched between his teeth, sat silently on a scorched rock. His face was dark with frustration.
His massive Jitte was stabbed into the ground beside him, unmoving.
He couldn't shake what had just happened—how he and Ace had been forced to work together to launch Shirogai Yamikuro's devastating attack out to sea.
Was that justice?
Or had he just compromised everything he believed in?
His faith in the Marines—no, in his own judgment—was beginning to waver.
He hadn't even tried to stop Ace from leaving. Just watched as the fiery Second Division Commander turned into flame and vanished into the sky.
Tap, tap, tap!
Footsteps echoed behind him.
"Captain Smoker, sir!"
It was Tashigi, his subordinate, reporting after confirming the area was secure.
She'd seen it—the black fireball, the explosion, the sky torn open by raw destruction.
Seeing Smoker still alive, she exhaled in relief.
"I'm glad you're okay."
Wearing her usual short-sleeved Marine uniform, she stood at attention and saluted the captain's back.
"We're sorry, sir. Due to unfamiliarity with the city's terrain, we couldn't apprehend Straw Hat Luffy. He and his crew... they're gone."
"They escaped... huh," Smoker muttered.
He inhaled deeply, then asked quietly, "Tashigi... what do you think separates a Pirate from a Marine?"
She hesitated.
"The difference between justice and evil, isn't it?"
Smoker turned to face her.
His expression was darker than she'd ever seen it.
"Then who defines that difference? Marineford? The World Government? Or... the people?"
Tashigi blinked, stunned.
Why was Captain Smoker suddenly questioning everything?
"You think I'm doubting the Government?" he asked dryly, sensing her thoughts. "No... I'm doubting myself."
He scoffed, voice bitter.
"I actually thought that man—The Plunderer, the same Pirate who nearly wiped out a city of civilians—was someone noble. Forced into piracy. I thought I saw a spark of righteousness in him."
"Do you mean... Shirogai Yamikuro?"
Tashigi's voice trembled. She remembered Smoker's obsession with training after their encounter in Loguetown.
Back then, Smoker trained hard. Now? He trained like a man possessed.
He'd doubled his physical routine, stopped using the ship's engines, and used only his Smoke-Smoke Fruit to move the warship across the sea.
In the early days, he needed help just getting to his room. Then he could crawl. Then lean on walls. Now, he walked like normal.
And the results were clear. His Armament Haki had improved, and his Devil Fruit mastery had reached new levels. He'd started using his smoke in ways no one had imagined.
Lately, he'd defeated multiple pirates with bounties close to 100 million Berries—alone.
But now, hearing Shirogai's name, a flash of killing intent sparked in Smoker's eyes.
"That's right. I looked up to that monster. That Pirate who tramples lives like ants... I saw him as a goal."
His fist clenched.
"I was wrong."
Tashigi recalled the black-and-red fireball that nearly obliterated the city and whispered, "That... was his doing?"
Smoker didn't answer. He stared at the ground, voice low:
"There's only one thing to do with monsters like him... Kill them. That's the only way to protect innocent lives."
Tashigi stayed silent.
She didn't know what to say.
Smoker had always spoken about Shirogai—comparing himself, measuring his progress, almost idolizing the man.
But now?
That idol had fallen.
She didn't know the term, but on Earth, this moment would've been called an 'idol collapse.'
A Marine suddenly ran over, panting:
"Captain Smoker! Mr. 11—the Baroque Works agent you imprisoned on the warship—he's been murdered by an unknown assailant!"
Smoker's expression darkened even further.
"This confirms it."
WHOOSH!
He gripped the Jitte next to him, swinging it up and pointing it at the city.
"There's a Pirate in Alabasta with a hidden agenda. Someone's planning something here... something dark."
Tashigi frowned.
"You think it's Straw Hat Luffy and... Shirogai?"
Smoker let out a hollow laugh.
"If Shirogai had his eyes set on this place, not even a Vice Admiral could stop him. It'd take an Admiral.... With my current strength, I wouldn't survive ten seconds."
Tashigi blinked, confused.
"Then... could it be the Whitebeard Pirates? Fire Fist Ace is here too. That can't be a coincidence, right?"
Smoker shook his head slowly, remembering Ace's resolve during their teamwork.
"It's not them. Whitebeard doesn't deal in shadows or schemes. He takes what he wants directly, face-to-face."
Tashigi was puzzled.
"Then who?"
Smoker's eyes sharpened.
"There's a Shichibukai here in Alabasta... a man praised as a hero. But I know better."
"Crocodile."
Tashigi gasped.
"Crocodile?"
Smoker placed his Jitte on his back and spoke with cold certainty.
"You know I can't stand the Seven Warlords of the Sea. Especially that snake. Crocodile is no servant of justice."
"But sir, the Warlords are under Marine and Government authority..."
"That doesn't make them trustworthy. He's planning something. And whatever it is, it isn't aligned with justice."
He turned and walked toward the street.
"Remember this, Tashigi. A Pirate is a Pirate. Don't get fooled just because they do something 'good' once in a while."
As he spoke, flashes of Shirogai's smiling face and Ace's fire-lit eyes filled his mind.
He took a deep breath and said, more to himself than her:
"A Marine's job is to uphold true justice. To protect the innocent. Never turn a blind eye. Never let a Pirate go."
His voice was firm.
His resolve had returned.
Shirogai Yamikuro...
From this moment forward,
I won't chase your shadow anymore.
I'll destroy it.
---
Meanwhile, in a narrow alley of Yuba...
"Luffy, be serious!"
Ace stood in front of his younger brother, visibly agitated.
Luffy grinned, clueless as ever.
Ace tried again.
"Where did you meet Shirogai? Do you understand how dangerous that guy is?"
---
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