Buggy screamed.
Luffy laughed.
The sounds echoed through Orange Town as the bizarre duel continued several streets away.
With both of his hands indisposed, one in marble form in Nami's satchel, the other still being used as a chew toy, Buggy's attacks had become noticeably less coordinated. His remaining limbs still flew through the air with manic determination, but Luffy danced between them just as effortlessly as before.
"...Still can't hit him," Zoro observed.
"...Still can't hit Buggy either," Nami replied.
The two watched from the shade of the pet food store like spectators at an unusually stupid sporting event.
Nearby, Ritchie had made himself comfortable.
The enormous lion lay sprawled across the street, his massive head resting contentedly in Nami's lap while she absentmindedly scratched behind one ear.
"Purrrrr..."
His tail lazily thumped against the ground.
Perched atop his mane like a tiny king surveying his domain, ChouChou remained perfectly alert.
Buggy's detached hand was still firmly clenched between his jaws, struggling in vain to free itself. It slapped helplessly against ChouChou's muzzle. Then it tried prying his jaws apart. When neither worked, it even attempted several rude gestures.
ChouChou merely growled.
"Crunch."
The hand immediately stopped struggling quite so enthusiastically.
"...So the lion's friendly now?" Zoro finally asked.
Ritchie looked up.
"Prr?"
He nodded once.
Then immediately settled back down, eyes half-closing as Nami resumed scratching behind his ears.
"I guess?" Nami answered back. She was similarly confused about why the big cat had defected, but he was kind of cute when he wasn't trying to eat them.
Underneath the enormous cat, a muffled voice wheezed.
"...Traitor..."
Moji's face was buried in the dirt beneath several hundred pounds of lion.
Ritchie lazily lifted one paw.
Moji's eyes brightened hopefully.
Then the lion gently, but firmly, placed it back on his chest.
"Oof!"
Nami couldn't help smiling.
"I think you hurt his feelings."
Ritchie gave a mournful little rumble.
Moji winced.
"...I said I was sorry..."
The lion looked away dramatically.
"...He's not accepting your apology," Zoro observed.
"Nope."
Another crash echoed from farther down the street.
"GET BACK HERE, YOU RUBBER MENACE!"
"You're too slow, Buggsy!"
"I TOLD YOU TO STOP CALLING ME THAT!"
Nami laughed quietly.
"...Looks like they're going to be a while."
She reached into the satchel at her waist.
Instead of another compressed marble, she withdrew a neatly folded sheet of paper and a small Den Den Mushi.
Zoro glanced over.
"What's that?"
"The contact information Garp gave Luffy."
She unfolded the page.
"'Loguetown Marine Base. Captain Smoker.'"
She looked toward the sounds of Luffy and Buggy continuing to demolish another section of the street.
"...If we're about to wrap this up..."
A thoughtful smile crossed her face.
"...Might as well make a few calls."
She set the little Den Den Mushi on an overturned crate.
The tiny snail blinked sleepily.
"...Puruh?"
Nami dialed the number.
Several rings passed.
Then…
Click.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Several miles away, in Loguetown...
Captain Smoker was having what he considered a pleasant morning. Pleasant meaning no one had tried anything particularly stupid yet.
The office window stood open, allowing the salty sea breeze to carry away most of the smoke from his two cigars filling the room.
Most.
Not all.
If not for his adjutant that window would have been closed. Across from him, The aforementioned adjutant Tashigi carefully sorted reports into increasingly neat stacks.
The good captain was engaged with the greatest enemy any Marine officer would ever face.
Paperwork.
Being an important branch, at least as important as any branch could be in the Blues, there was no shortage of clerical work.
"...Captain," she said without looking up, "these requisition forms still need your signature."
"Get them organized, I'll sign them tomorrow."
He was hoping something would come up that would allow him to delegate the work to Commander Kline, the officer that handled the branch when he and Tashigi were away on business.
The young swordswoman looked up and adjusted her glasses.
"They've needed it since yesterday."
Smoker let out a long exhale, filling the office fully with cigar smoke before the breeze carried it out.
"Fine, pass me a sta-"
Just as Smoker was about to cave and start signing papers, a familiar ringing echoed through the office.
Pururururu...
Pururururu...
The Den Den Mushi sitting atop his desk opened its little eyes.
He frowned slightly. Although pleased he could put off the paperwork a little longer, unexpected calls usually weren't a good thing.
"...Who in the world is calling this early?"
He picked up the receiver.
"This is Captain Smoker."
There was a brief pause.
Then a young woman's calm voice answered.
"Captain Smoker? My name is Nami, I'm calling from Orange Town."
Smoker leaned back slightly.
"...Go on."
Nami's next sentence made both Marines freeze.
"The Buggy Pirates have occupied the town for weeks. They've destroyed large portions of it. The civilians have fled into the surrounding hills. My captain is currently fighting Buggy."
Silence.
Tashigi slowly lowered the papers in her hands.
Smoker removed his cigars from his mouth.
"...I'm sorry, could you repeat that?"
The snail mimicking Nami's face blinked.
"...Which part?"
"...All of it."
"...Fair."
She glanced toward the street outside. Another crash echoed through town, followed by Buggy loudly accusing Luffy of cheating somehow.
"They're... still at it," she muttered.
Smoker pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Start from the beginning."
Nami took a breath.
"My name is Nami."
"I'm sailing with a small crew operating under the authority of Vice Admiral Monkey D. Garp."
That sentence alone made Tashigi's eyes widen.
"G-Garp?!"
Smoker shot her a look, she immediately straightened.
"S-Sorry, Captain."
Smoker motioned for her to check the claim, and she set about searching for any new files regarding Garp.
Nami continued.
"We arrived in Orange Town yesterday to find it occupied by the Buggy Pirates."
She briefly described the destruction. The flattened districts, the civilians hiding in the mountains, the Buggy Balls.
Every sentence caused Smoker's expression to harden further.
By the time she finished describing the repeated bombardments, smoke was steadily drifting from the cigar clenched between his teeth.
"...Those bastards."
Tashigi looked horrified.
"They were firing artillery into civilian neighborhoods?"
"They called it entertainment."
Silence.
"...I'll arrest every last one of them," she muttered.
Smoker nodded once.
"Damn right."
Nami continued.
"The mayor's name is Boodle, he can give a full accounting of the damage."
"The townspeople are still hiding in the hills because they believe the pirates control the island."
Smoker reached for a notebook.
"Go on."
"We've already incapacitated Buggy's officers 'Beast Tamer' Moji and 'Acrobat' Cabaji, the rest of the officers and most of the crew have been subdued."
"And Buggy?"
Nami glanced outside again, another tremendous crash transmitting through the den den mushi.
"...Still being punched."
Smoker blinked.
"...Excuse me?"
"My captain wanted to handle him personally."
"...Who's your captain?"
Nami smiled.
"Monkey D. Luffy."
This time even Smoker's eyebrows rose along with Tashigi's.
"...Monkey."
"...As in..."
"...Garp's grandson?"
"That's him." Nami replied casually.
Tashigi looked between the receiver and Smoker.
"...Vice Admiral Garp never mentioned having a grandson."
Smoker grunted.
"Garp doesn't mention a lot of things."
"...True."
Nami continued.
"Luffy told me to call you, he said Vice Admiral Garp gave him your contact information."
She unfolded the paper again despite already knowing what it said.
"He also said..."
She smiled faintly.
"...that Captain Smoker is one of the good Marines."
The room went quiet.
Even Smoker looked caught off guard.
"...He said that?"
"Actually..."
Nami corrected herself.
"...Vice Admiral Garp said it first. He personally vouched for you."
"He said if we ran into any towns that needed help rebuilding, you were the person to call."
Tashigi couldn't help smiling.
"...Vice Admiral Garp remembered us?"
Smoker scoffed.
"Probably just because I yell at idiots almost as much as he does."
Even so...
The corners of his mouth lifted ever so slightly, just enough for Tashigi to notice.
She smiled wider.
Nami continued.
"We've also recovered what appears to be most of Buggy's stolen wealth."
Smoker's attention immediately sharpened.
"It'll need cataloguing."
"The mayor believes a large portion belongs to Orange Town."
"We're leaving everything that belongs to the townspeople."
She paused.
"The rest… we'll hand over for proper processing."
Smoker gave an approving nod.
"Good."
He noticed the somewhat depressed look on the little snail, and easily guessed the reason.
"Although,"
The snail perked up.
"The Navy has a long standing rule. Tracking down the source of a pirate's stolen goods is nearly impossible. So, the arresting crew claims wealth."
Back in Orange Town Zoro stared in fascinated horror as Nami's eyes transformed into berry signs.
She gave an enthusiastic salute and affirmed.
"Yes sir, benevolent Captain Smoker Sir!"
Smoker chuckled as he leaned back in his chair.
"How long do you intend to remain on the island?"
The navigator returned to her more serious demeanor.
"Luffy wants to make sure Buggy's crew is properly secured before we leave, so..."
She looked away as another collision sounded out down the street.
"...Maybe a few days?"
Smoker nodded.
Tashigi was already moving, a bundle of paperwork tucked against her side as she approached the maps unfolded across the desk.
She quickly measured the route from Loguetown.
"If we leave immediately..."
"...Three days," she concluded.
"Two if the winds cooperate."
Smoker stood.
"Get the base ready. I want supplies, medical personnel, engineers, lumber and food. We leave as soon as possible."
Tashigi was already writing.
"Yes, Captain!"
Smoker picked the Den Den Mushi back up.
"Nami."
"Yeah?"
"Tell Mayor Boodle the Marines are coming."
His voice carried a quiet certainty.
"Orange Town won't be abandoned."
A small smile appeared on Nami's face.
"I'll tell him."
"And tell Garp's grandson..."
Another crash echoed faintly through the receiver.
"...that if Buggy somehow escapes before I get there..."
Smoke curled from Smoker's cigar.
"...I'm going to be extremely disappointed."
Nami laughed.
"I don't think you'll have to worry about that."
The line clicked off.
For a few moments neither Marine spoke. Tashigi broke the silence by handing over the new files she had found regarding Garp and his grandson's crew.
It was legitimate. The paperwork was in order. They were technically a subordinate crew of a Marine Vice Admiral.
Finally, Tashigi looked up.
"...What do you think?"
Smoker looked out the office window toward the sea.
"I think Garp just unleashed something ridiculous on the East Blue."
He put his cigar back between his teeth.
"And judging by that call," A small grin crossed his face, "the pirates are going to hate every minute of it."