East Blue.
Waters near the entrance to the Grand Line.
"Report to Vice Admiral Kane! Loguetown is just ahead. Please give your orders!"
"Loguetown, huh…"
Kane let out a faint sigh.
That place—
The very starting point of the Pirate King.
Gol D. Roger's final words before his execution had thrown the entire world into madness—
Thus beginning the Great Age of Pirates.
To others, it sounded passionate. Inspiring. A turning point of an era.
But to Kane—
It was nothing but nonsense.
Since that moment—
Pirates had flooded the seas.
Disaster followed.
Countless families were torn apart.
Nations suffered endless raids.
Kane had seen it all.
He had lived through it.
When people became pirates—
Who still cared about the lives of civilians?
The more he saw—
The more numb he became.
So—
He felt no admiration for Roger.
Not even a trace.
Especially after the families of his comrades—
Of Zephyr's soldiers—
Were slaughtered by pirate
People liked to say pirates had bonds and loyalty.
But tell him—
Didn't bandits have that too?
Did that make them good?
This world might need leaders.
Reformers.
Guides.
But never pirates.
"…Forget it."
"Why am I even thinking about this?"
"Guess I really am getting old…"
Because once—
He had dreams too.
Soon, the warship docked at the Marine base in Loguetown.
As the final stop before entering the Grand Line—
This place was guarded by none other than:
Smoker.
The last student of Zephyr.
Kane actually admired him—
To some extent.
But admiration was one thing—
Right now?
He found him extremely unpleasant.
The reason was simple.
Over the past few days—
Kane had swept through pirates across a hundred-mile radius.
He had expected a huge profit.
Instead—
The gains were minimal.
Why?
Because Smoker had already cleaned up most of the surrounding seas.
After dealing with all the pirates aboard—
Kane had only earned just over 500 million Beli.
Add in what he got from the Baratie—
His total assets were nearing 1 billion Beli again.
Enough to keep the system running for now.
But for Kane—
It was far from enough.
"Vice Admiral Kane… why are you looking at me like that?"
Smoker asked, puzzled
Kane said nothing.
'What, was he supposed to say it's because you cleaned out my income sources?'
Smoker felt a hint of dissatisfaction—
But said nothing further.
Even though Kane's name had faded over the years—
Smoker knew exactly who he was.
Back then—
Kane had been a powerful, righteous Marine.
But something had changed.
Smoker believed—
No matter the reason—
That wasn't an excuse to abandon one's original ideals.
If he knew about Kane's connection with the Pirate Empress—
Things would be even worse.
"Smoker, you've done well."
"Hardly any pirates left around here."
"Vice Admiral Kane, you flatter me."
Kane's lips twitched.
"Is this guy serious?"
At that moment—
A bespectacled female Marine stepped forward, staring at the sword at Kane's waist.
"That… is your blade, Vice Admiral?"
"The cursed sword *Benizakura*… a dark crimson blade."
"They say it's been stained with countless lives…"
"Oh? Tashigi, is it?" Kane said.
"You know me?"
Tashigi asked, surprised.
"Of course."
"A young Marine who still holds onto justice."
Tashigi blushed slightly.
"Um… may I take a look at it?"
Kane didn't mind.
He tossed the sword to her.
Among the characters in this world—
Tashigi was one of the few Kane actually liked.
She carefully drew the blade—
And in that instant—
A sharp, dark-red killing aura burst forth.
The temperature around them seemed to drop.
Smoker and Tashigi both stiffened.
"Behave."
Kane spoke lightly.
The aura immediately subsided.
Tashigi was stunned.
"So it's true…"
"A cursed blade… has a will of its own."
She quickly returned it respectfully.
Kane took it and casually hung it back at his side.
"It's just been a bit temperamental lately."
"Temperamental?" Tashigi blinked.
"Haven't used it much these past few years."
---
"The cursed blade Benizakura…"
"The weapon of Vice Admiral Kane."
"Twenty years ago, it slaughtered countless pirates—"
"Bathed in the blood of powerful foes."
"It struck fear across the New World."
"Known as a blade that brings death."
"And you…"
"Were called the Marine who brings death."
"Am I right?"
Smoker spoke.
Kane glanced at him, slightly surprised.
"Looks like Zephyr really values you."
"Told you quite a lot."
"But that's all old history."
"What's the point of bringing it up?"
---
Smoker finally spoke what had been on his mind.
---
"You once upheld justice."
"So why—"
"In the past decade…"
"Have I only heard negative things about you?"
---
"Have you… forgotten your original ideals?"
Silence.
The atmosphere froze.
Even Tashigi and the others felt suffocated.
Kane was quiet for a long time.
Then—
He laughed.
A cold laugh.
"Smoker."
"Are you lecturing me?"
"I wouldn't dare."
"I just… have doubts."
"Doubts?"
Kane's gaze turned sharp.
"I used to admire you."
"But it seems Zephyr didn't teach you something important."
"What?"
"Respect for the strong."
"And awareness of your own limits."
Smoker froze.
He had always been confident in his strength.
"What?"
"Not convinced?"
"You may be a senior…"
"But I don't like what you're saying."
Smoker took a drag of his cigar and exhaled.
"Don't like it?"
"Then endure it."
"You call yourself Zephyr's student?"
"Your Haki is pathetic."
"You learned six forms—barely five."
"A complete mess."
"No swordsmanship worth mentioning."
"Your only strength is your Logia fruit."
"But what have you done with it?"
"Akainu, Kizaru, Aokiji—"
"They rely on their fruits too."
"But they're strong."
"They made it to Admiral."
"And you?"
"A Captain?"
"In East Blue?
"That's it?"
"And you dare lecture me?"
"What a joke."
"And one more thing."
"I finally quit smoking…"
"And you're standing here smoking in front of me?"
"That pisses me off too."
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