Smoker walked into the meeting room with a cigar in his mouth.
As soon as he entered, he heard a very familiar voice.
"You were selected too, Hina?"
Hina blew out a puff of smoke and looked at her fellow graduate and friend with interest.
"Huh?"
Smoker was confused. He walked over and sat down in the seat next to Hina, asking curiously, "You seem to know something."
Hina smiled and lowered her voice. "The Navy is about to form a special unit specifically to stop Dr. Reddy from hunting the Bloodline Factors of strong individuals."
"What?"
Smoker froze for a moment but quickly snapped back to reality. He stood up and shook his head. "What a ridiculous idea."
"Are you planning to refuse?"
Hina held her cigarette between her lips and looked at Smoker with a smile.
Smoker replied impatiently, "Of course. This kind of thing isn't for me. Besides, I don't think anyone can stop that man."
Garp's defeat had dealt a heavy psychological blow to him, leaving him in a state of confusion. He had barely managed to adjust his mindset before returning to Marineford.
But he still felt despair toward the monstrous clones under Reddy's command.
Not just Garp—even the current three Navy Admirals had lost to Reddy.
With that in mind, what could a newly formed special unit possibly do to stop him?
Throw their faces at him?
"Um... excuse me, sorry to interrupt."
Smoker and Hina turned their heads at the same time and saw a young girl who looked to be only about ten years old standing timidly at the entrance of the meeting room. They were stunned.
"What's your name?"
Hina frowned, unable to understand why such a young girl—who might not even be old enough to enroll in the Navy Academy—had been chosen for the soon-to-be-formed special unit.
"Oh, my name is Kotori. I specialize in long-range sniping."
Kotori quickly stood at attention and gave her name and specialty, while also looking at Smoker and Hina with admiration.
White Hunter Smoker!
Black Cage Hina!
These two were the future stars of Marineford!
She was so excited!
"How old are you? Fourteen? Or fifteen?"
Smoker was growing increasingly disillusioned with this newly formed unit and spoke with rising impatience.
Kotori nervously stood at attention. "I... I'm fourteen... but I'm really good at long-range sniping. Really."
Hina chuckled and motioned for Kotori to sit beside her.
"Thank you."
Kotori walked over and sat in the seat on the other side of Hina, shyly expressing her gratitude.
Hina was instantly charmed by the little girl. She laughed around her cigarette. "Don't worry, big sister will take care of you from now on."
"Thank you."
Kotori smiled happily after receiving Hina's approval.
Smoker shook his head and prepared to leave the meeting room to express his dissatisfaction to Fleet Admiral Sengoku. Just then, a young woman walked in.
"Hey hey, White Hunter Smoker, Black Cage Hina... Oh, and a little girl too."
Peacock glanced around and quickly spotted familiar faces, as well as an unfamiliar but adorable young girl. She walked past Smoker and took a seat next to Kotori.
"Don't scare Kotori."
Peacock was the granddaughter of Vice Admiral Tsuru and a user of the Whip-Whip Fruit. Her unique personality made her a notable figure in Marineford, so Hina naturally knew her.
"My name is Peacock. Nice to meet you."
Peacock rested her chin on her hand and smiled at Kotori.
Kotori hurriedly stood up to introduce herself. "Pardon me, my name is Kotori. I specialize in long-range sniping."
"No need to be so nervous. We're going to be teammates from now on."
Peacock's enthusiasm made Kotori smile happily again as she obediently sat back down and answered the two older girls' questions.
"Tch!"
Smoker shook his head and prepared to leave.
Just then, a burly man walked in.
"X. Drake, Navy Captain."
Drake nodded at Smoker and, without waiting for a response, walked over to the other side of the conference table and took a random seat.
Smoker hesitated for a moment before turning around and sitting in an empty seat.
He could tell that this Navy Captain Drake was not much weaker than him in terms of strength—perhaps even slightly stronger.
Of course, that was in terms of physical combat.
Smoker had far more faith in his Logia-type Smoke-Smoke Fruit.
Before long, another man entered.
"Prince Grus, Navy Captain. Alias 'Prince.' A Clay Human who ate the Clay-Clay Fruit. Pleased to meet you."
The newcomer spoke in a somewhat flippant tone and carried an arrogance that made Smoker uncomfortable.
This only deepened his curiosity about the selection criteria for this special unit.
"Aren't you going to introduce yourselves?"
Grus rested his hands behind his head, propped his feet up on the conference table, and grinned at Smoker and Drake.
Drake remained indifferent and completely ignored him.
Smoker scoffed. "With that attitude, you'll just end up as that man's trophy in no time."
Grus fell silent.
From the moment he entered the meeting room, he had deliberately acted frivolous to observe his future teammates.
Of course, he recognized Smoker—the White Hunter was one of Marineford's rising stars.
Clearly, he didn't think Smoker's personality was suited for the soon-to-be-formed special unit.
Drake's behavior, however, caught his attention.
Just then, Sakazuki strode into the meeting room. Without sitting down, he handed out a stack of documents and waited for Smoker and the others to skim through them before immediately explaining, "You will be the first members of the special unit, Blade. Your objective is to prevent Dr. Reddy from obtaining more Bloodline Factors."
"Admiral Akainu!"
Smoker was the first to speak up. "Why was I chosen?"
The others also turned their eyes to Sakazuki, equally curious about why Smoker had been selected.
Given Smoker's temperament, he was utterly unsuited for a covert unit.
"Because you know Dr. Reddy best."
Sakazuki succinctly stated the reason for Smoker's inclusion in Blade. "You should understand that numbers mean nothing to that man. So we need someone familiar with him."
Smoker had nothing to say to that.
In all of Marineford, aside from the current three Admirals, he was indeed the one who knew Reddy best.
Sakazuki's gaze swept over the others as he said gravely, "I've reviewed your records. You all possess unique talents. I hope you can stop that man."
"Admiral Akainu..."
Drake asked solemnly, "What are our limits?"
"If you deem it necessary, you may engage in combat with an Emperor without prior authorization from Marineford."
Smoker and the others immediately felt a chill.
No one had expected this newly formed special unit to have such high authority.
The group instantly felt the pressure.
Ignoring their reactions, Sakazuki turned to Smoker and announced, "Commander Smoker, in recognition of your outstanding performance in the East Blue, you are hereby promoted to Captain and appointed as the leader of the Blade unit."
"Me?"
Smoker was stunned.
"I have no objections."
Drake stated expressionlessly.
Following his lead, the others also voiced their approval of Sakazuki's appointment.
Having achieved all the objectives of the meeting, Sakazuki declared, "The Blade unit is officially formed. Your first mission is to analyze Dr. Reddy's next target."
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