Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
When Roy's warship docked at the port, it naturally attracted quite a bit of attention.
After all, the massive Sea Beast carcass strapped to the stern was pretty hard to miss.
"I'm going to report to Vice Admiral Bilos."
"Hans, take Squad Two and escort this guy to the prison—once HQ confirms his identity, he'll be shipped to Impel Down with the other prisoners we've been holding."
"Farr, take Squad One into town to sell the Sea Beast meat, and arrange a celebration feast at the usual place."
Roy's instructions came smoothly—clearly this wasn't his first rodeo.
"Yes sir!" *2
At the mention of 'celebration feast,' the detention force Marines' eyes lit up instantly.
Roy then disembarked on his own, intending to report to his superior.
However...
"Hey!"
He'd barely reached Oris Plaza at Marine Headquarters when a familiar voice reached his ears.
That voice made him groan inwardly. He immediately spun around, ready to bolt.
But before he could make his escape, white smoke had already surrounded him in thick clouds.
"So, have you thought about what I said?"
Along with that question, a figure slowly materialized from the smoke.
After hearing the question, Roy answered without hesitation: "Not interested—Smoker, I'm not leaving the detention force!"
That's right.
The distinctive white hair, muscular build, the cigars perpetually in his mouth and at his chest, plus that unique weapon 'Jitte' strapped to his back—all identified him clearly.
Marine Headquarters Commander, Logia Smoke-Smoke Fruit user, 'White Hunter' Smoker.
"Roy Amos!"
At Roy's response, Smoker bit down on his cigar and roared, "You bastard... quit screwing around!"
"Who's screwing around?"
Roy shot him an irritated look.
He knew exactly what Smoker wanted.
In fact, Smoker had joined the Marines in the same recruitment class as him.
And naturally—with a Logia user right in front of him, Roy wasn't about to pass up that ability.
So during their training period and apprentice missions after joining the Marines, Roy and Smoker had gotten along well enough to be genuine friends.
But after boot camp ended, their paths diverged completely.
With his Logia fruit ability and exceptional strength, Smoker naturally became one of the Marines' priority talents, even entering former Admiral 'Black Arm' Zephyr's elite training camp.
Meanwhile, Roy decisively chose to join the detention force.
So despite being the same rank initially, they now had a two-rank gap between them.
And that was exactly why Smoker was here.
He was already a Headquarters Commander, and according to HQ regulations—once a Marine officer reached Captain rank, they faced two choices.
Either join a Vice Admiral's or even Admiral's fleet, or head to one of the Four Blues to manage a branch.
The former was what most Captain-rank officers chose, since following high-ranking officers on missions led to faster promotions.
But as Marine Headquarters' most famous hardheaded troublemaker, Smoker had no interest in serving under some Vice Admiral.
So he'd already made his choice—he would return to his hometown of Loguetown to run the Marine branch there.
Which was why he'd come looking for Roy.
"I told you, I need a competent second-in-command."
He looked at Roy with a grim expression.
"And I told you, I'm not going—I already recommended Lieutenant Tashigi. She's a solid Marine..."
Roy replied earnestly.
Leave the detention force?
Then who the hell was going to keep supplying him with Devil Fruits?
But the instant those words left his mouth...
"BOOM!"
A tremendous whooshing sound hit Roy's ears.
So...
"Whoosh!"
Roy's figure vanished from where he stood, and Smoker's jitte had already crashed into the ground with tremendous force.
"CRACK CRACK CRACK!"
The pristine white plaza floor shattered under Smoker's immense strength, leaving a massive crater.
Marines who happened to be passing by jumped in alarm: "What's going on!?"
"Are we under attack?"
Some Marines instinctively chambered rounds in their flintlock rifles.
But then they witnessed something that left them shocked.
After adding another headache to Marineford's ground maintenance crew with that strike, Smoker's movements showed no signs of stopping.
"White Blow!"
He shouted, and countless smoke-formed fists erupted from his body, continuously attacking Roy!
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Smoker—what the hell are you doing? Have you lost your mind!?"
But amid those countless swinging fists, Roy's figure kept dodging and weaving.
And incredibly, not a single one of Smoker's punches could touch him.
[Rabbit-Rabbit Fruit: Snow Rabbit Form LV1 - Equipped - Grants partial snow rabbit traits, overall physical enhancement, additional boost to hearing and speed]
[Mouse-Mouse Fruit: Gray Mouse Form LV1 - Equipped - Grants partial gray mouse traits, overall physical enhancement, additional boost to agility]
But Smoker completely ignored his protests.
"White Snake!"
While bombarding Roy with smoke-formed fists, his lower body transformed into surging smoke, allowing his upper body to suddenly appear right in front of Roy.
He raised his jitte high and brought it crashing down toward Roy again!
"You're serious!?"
Seeing this, Roy cried out, then raised his hand.
The abilities in his Fruit Encyclopedia switched once more.
[Ox-Ox Fruit: Giant Rhino Form LV1] [Muscle-Muscle Fruit LV1].
That same power that had sent a Sea Beast flying with one punch returned to Roy's body, and he directly caught Smoker's jitte with his bare hand!
"BOOM!"
The tremendous force instantly shattered the ground beneath Roy's feet.
But even under such immense power, Roy's figure remained completely steady.
He simply looked at Smoker and said in a low voice, "Keep this up and I won't hold back!"
"Bring it!"
Smoker roared, then his arm transformed into white smoke again, rushing toward Roy.
Seeing this, Roy gritted his teeth: "You bastard!"
He stopped holding back. One hand continued gripping Smoker's jitte while the other shifted to an open palm.
At that moment, the abilities in his Fruit Encyclopedia switched again.
[Human-Human Fruit: Great Buddha Form LV1 - Comprehensive physical enhancement, can emit minor shockwaves from palms]
From his palm, a golden shockwave suddenly burst forth.
"BOOM!"
A deep trench instantly appeared in the ground, and the smoke that was Smoker was immediately blasted away by Roy's palm strike.
Only after landing in the distance did the smoke reform into Smoker's body.
Meanwhile, the Marines in the surrounding area were nearly all blown off their feet!
Some Marines who didn't know what was happening instinctively raised their weapons, thinking they were under attack.
Only after seeing both fighters in the center of the battlefield wearing Marine uniforms did they all display expressions of utter shock.
"So strong... they're like monsters... who the hell are these two!?"
"I recognize the white-haired one—that's 'White Hunter' Smoker!"
"The Logia user, that mad dog in HQ famous for not following orders?"
"Who's the other guy? How can he fight Smoker like that!?"
"Must be an officer from one of the elite divisions!?"
The Marines buzzed with speculation.
The strong always drew attention, no matter where they were.
And undoubtedly—even at Marine Headquarters, for most Marines, battles at this level were rare sights.
But at this moment, Smoker paid no attention to the surrounding chatter.
He simply bit down on his cigar, his expression still grim: "Your physical strength and that 'Hadoken' of yours... you've gotten even stronger again!"
That's right.
Smoker considered himself one of the Marines who understood Roy best—at least, that's what he believed.
So he'd long known just how terrifying Roy's natural talents in speed, strength, and reflexes were.
In fact, if he hadn't personally seen Roy swimming in the ocean, he would've suspected Roy was a Devil Fruit user.
Beyond that, he'd also witnessed Roy's so-called 'Hadoken' technique before.
According to Roy's explanation, it was 'a fighting technique that creates shockwaves by utilizing invisible air vibrations when throwing a punch'—Smoker had tried learning it privately many times but could never figure out how Roy pulled it off.
But that didn't matter.
This ocean had no shortage of extraordinary individuals. He'd even heard about some Revolutionary Army guy who could shatter rocks just by winking seductively.
To Smoker, what truly mattered was... he couldn't understand Roy's choices!
Most Marines assumed that anyone who voluntarily joined the detention force was probably a coward afraid to face real danger.
But Smoker knew Roy wasn't like that.
"Do you remember that little girl from Keshira Village?"
He bit down on his cigar and said in a low voice.
"You chased those bastards across an entire sea region just to get back the money she needed for her mother's treatment. You carved a bloody path through a pirate-infested town with your own hands and captured that whole crew!"
"I've seen your justice firsthand, Roy... so tell me what the hell you're thinking!?"
"With your strength, why won't you go to the front lines and make a name for yourself? Why are you wasting away as some measly Lieutenant in the detention force?"
He demanded in a growl.
But faced with Smoker's interrogation, Roy remained calm: "Justice?"
He pulled a flask from his sleeve and started chugging from it.
It looked pretty badass.
Though judging by the black, bubbly liquid that spilled out, he was obviously drinking cola.
Then he grinned: "What you saw wasn't my justice, Smoker—that was just basic human decency."
"Besides... I'm not that ambitious. I think the detention force suits me just fine!"
Hearing this, Smoker's fury only intensified.
"You bastard..."
White smoke surged violently from his arms—clearly he was preparing to attack again.
If words wouldn't work, he'd communicate with his fists. That was just the kind of man he was!
But just then...
"Smoker."
A sudden voice made Smoker freeze mid-motion.
"Whoa!"
"Who's that gorgeous lady?"
"It's Commander 'Black Cage' Hina!"
Excited voices erupted from the crowd of Marines, with many sailors' eyes practically turning into red hearts.
At that moment, a curvaceous, pink-haired beauty in a Marine uniform emerged from the crowd.
"Just got back from a mission to find you causing trouble again. Hina is not amused."
She had a slim cigarette in her mouth and looked at Smoker with exasperation.
"Your last disciplinary action hasn't even been cleared yet, has it!?"
As Smoker's friend and the person who regularly cleaned up after his messes, she clearly had plenty to complain about.
Though Smoker's momentum had already weakened by thirty percent, he still tried to maintain his stance: "Hmph! This time it's not my fault—it's this bastard..."
He decisively deflected responsibility, turning around to try getting Hina to join him in verbally tearing into a certain unambitious fool.
But when he turned around, he discovered...
The spot where Roy had been standing was completely empty!
"He ran again... that bastard!"
Realizing Roy had fled, Smoker's veins bulged with rage, his fists clenching tight.
But before he could give chase, black iron bars rose up around him in a ring.
From behind him came Hina's voice, now carrying a hint of danger: "Thinking of running? First you'll explain—what were you going crazy about this time? Otherwise... Hina is going to get angry!"
Smoker's expression finally showed genuine panic.