26 Chapter 26 - Bounty Announced! The New Monster of East Blue!

Some time ago.

It was still early in the morning when Tashigi reported to the Marine Base and met Smoker. And despite seeing his somewhat troubled expression, she still greeted him.

"Good morning, Captain." Tashigi raised her hand to her head in a naval salute when she saw Smoker pass straight by her and at the same time leave a flyer in her hands.

"Terrible day, actually." Walking faster than she ever saw, his voice sounded behind her, "Prepare the soldiers, a dangerous pirate has appeared in town!"

As the Marine Base in Loguetown went into a state of red alert, Tashigi stood still, slightly shocked. Her hands held the bounty flyer firmly and she finally saw the photo and the reward.

With a confident expression and a slight smile on his face, the image of the man with white hair and iridescent green eyes caused a huge shock, both due to his beauty and the sympathy they conveyed. But it was enough to see the lines of words below this photo to know that this man was extremely dangerous.

'WANTED'

'Image'

'DEAD OR ALIVE'

'NOAH • D • AVERY'

'฿50,000,000'

And besides, both on the backside and at the bottom of the reward pamphlet were some of his exploits.

'This individual is sought for his unlawful actions associated with the Arlong Pirates group. His activities included exploitation, harm, and elimination of civilians, instilling fear in the residents of the Conomi Islands for an extended period. He subsequently turned against and eliminated the group. Additionally, he is responsible for the demise of Captain Nezumi, the commander of the 16th Marine Base Branch, in a bid to hinder his escape.'

After reading all that and looking at Noah's picture several times, Tashigi felt a tightness in her heart.

She wasn't stupid. A bandana and glasses were not going to be able to hide Noah's face from her memory, who was a kind and fun man. All those moments they had and at the same time how much he indirectly showed that he was a good person…

"H-how..." She couldn't believe it. Her heart sank more and more when she imagined him doing all these atrocities. It was as if her Golden Armor Knight suddenly transformed into the Devil.

But she was a professional and quickly took control of her emotions. She wasn't here to put her own perspective and opinion, but rather to fulfill the commands of the captain. No one was innocent if they had a wanted poster in their name.

And that's what she was going to do now.

Arrest Noah. No. Arrest Noah D. Avery.

°°°

"Noah D. Avery, wanted for the murder of a Navy Captain and for causing disturbances in the Conomi Islands in collusion with the Arlong Pirates, a reward has been put on your head. Surrender or we will force you to do so!" Smoker spoke angrily as he threw his wanted poster in the air.

The angry voice of Smoker suddenly woke Tashigi up to where they were. All the way she seemed to be half airy and with cloudy thought. But she finally woke up.

And she faced Noah, who threw his bounty away with a casual smile on his face. And even more, she attentively listened to what he said.

"Hehe, this marine folks really know how to do things..."

And with the silence that followed afterward, with the marines staring at a single man in the middle of a public square, Smoker was annoyed by his men's lack of action.

"Arrest him now!" It was possible to see the expression lines appearing on Smoker's face as he looked at Noah, "Filthy pirate, you're going to get what you deserve in jail for having killed innocent civilians!"

At his command, several marines rushed towards the pirate, with kairoseki handcuffs in their hands and swords drawn.

Continuing to eat his chocolate cake, Noah only gave a smile when he felt the wind around him stir.

Swoosh!

And like a methodical application of the Conqueror's Haki, a wind circle formed around him before expanding and throwing all the sailors in different directions.

And despite the strength of the wind, it didn't hurt any of them. Still, it was enough to leave everyone surprised, because this means he had wind powers and therefore a Devil Fruit!

"So you're a Devil Fruit user." Smoker put his surprise aside before he smirked, "No wonder you defeated the Arlong Pirates after betraying them."

"You marine guys are quick to judge, aren't you?" Bombarded with so many falsehoods, Noah couldn't lie by saying he wasn't stressed and annoyed. Still, he controlled himself. They were all "innocent" people.

"Quick to judge?" Smoker heard what he said and got even more angry, the smoke from his cigarettes being multiplied, "So you're telling me you didn't kill a Marine Captain? Or that you destroyed the Arlong Pirates?"

And it was then that Noah fell silent, his face a little shocked. But soon after, he raised his hands in surrender to the extraordinary coincidence.

"Alright, I won't say you're wrong on that specific part. You're quite a captain." Almost wanting to laugh at the situation, he had to give credit to Smoker's fantastic inquisition.

A moment of silence followed, Smoker's face contorting with anger. Tashigi by his side was also looking at Noah, really wanting to feel that he was lying. Even so, it seemed that he really had done these things.

"I'm not the one who will judge you. Leave your words for the Court!" Already tired of the audacity and delay, Smoker just snorted in anger as he withdrew his large jitte.

And with just one move, he attacked Noah directly! He barely moved the jitte and he was already attacking him.

"Futile."

With just one sarcastic comment, a wind tornado suddenly sprang up around Noah, effectively protecting him from the first attack. And dodging to the right, he watched a smoke punch pass by, missing Smoker's other blow.

With his body covered in smoke, the true appearance of the powers of the Captain of Loguetown Base were being exposed at that moment. Having eaten the Moku Moku no Mi (Smoke-Smoke Fruit), Smoker effectively transformed into a smoke man who could use the powers of such an attribute!

"Your methods are quite childish, lil stogie!" Paying attention to all movements, Noah stared at Smoker's surprised expression.

"Scumbag!" Smoker shouted before attacking again, but suddenly he saw a punch coming his way!

And just relying on his intangibility property, he let the punch go through his face. But he didn't imagine what would come next.

With a small wind whirlwind forming around Noah's arms, the smoke expelled from Smoker's body was soon sucked in and forced to reunite by the centrifugal force. And the faster the whirlwind sped up, the more smoke was "ripped" from the parts that Smoker freely released.

And in this way, half of his head had been "captured" by Noah's tornado before Smoker's vision went dark and he had to rely on luck to be able to attack correctly.

And worse still, even if he wanted to use his smoke powers indiscriminately to pin Noah in place, he could use these wind powers to throw the smoke at his soldiers and suffocate them!

"Attack him!" Tashigi, who was watching everything, recovered from her shock at the same moment that her captain was incapacitated.

And she herself, unsheathing her Shigure sword, ran alongside the other soldiers to attack Noah!

"Arrest that pirate!"

"Artillery at the ready!"

"Release the captain- Aaah!"

At the same time, several soldiers' voices began to ring out. With the orders and commands, everyone quickly reorganized. But it was already too late.

"Too easy..." Tossing his black bandana away, Noah gave a bold smile to all the pirates coming his way... and started running towards them!

Swoosh!

"Aah!"

"What the hell!"

"My handcuffs, he stole my handcuffs!"

"How the hell am I handcuffed with you?"

As if he was the wind circulating around them, the image of Noah dancing among all the soldiers caused shock and disbelief.

And worse yet, for every soldier he passed by, the handcuffs were stolen before they were even arrested! Even Smoker's arms were trapped in kairoseki handcuffs, causing his headless body to go limp on the ground!

"Avery!"

A voice suddenly called him as he handcuffed the last soldier. And dodging his head to the left, he watched a sword blade pierce where he had just been!

"I didn't forget you, Miss Tashigi!" With a smile, he stepped back a few steps and raised his arms up, "Do you also want to arrest me?"

"You killed innocent people!" Tashigi held her sword tightly and pointed at him. Still, he could see the pain in her eyes as she continued, even looking at his sword, "You are a monster. A monster who does not deserve the sword you have."

"Do you know that I am a monster or were you just told that I was?" Looking deeply into her eyes, he smiled when he saw confusion arise in her eyes with this single question. And with a disappointed look, he just shrugged, "I believed too much in your character judgment."

"Don't confuse me!" Tashigi shouted angrily. Even though she was lost, she still had a duty to fulfill. Her eyes were firm, but at the same time they had a hint of pleading, "If you truly are innocent, then surrender and let the court judge as such."

With the two of them looking at each other, Noah pulled back his smile until he was serious. And taking a step forward, he appeared in front of Tashigi before disappearing with her!

The wind powers in the area also dissipated as Smoker's head returned to being whole and he shouted in anger.

"Tashigi!"

°°°

Bang!

With the sound of Tashigi's back hitting the wall, she looked around before realizing she was in an alley. And in front of her was the person responsible for taking her there.

"Avery-"

Click!

And with a light noise, the handcuffs closed around her slender wrists!

At this moment the two stared at each other for a moment before Noah sighed.

"My name is Noah." His voice was calm and controlled. Even though he had some ulterior motives with her, he knew that at this moment the two were on very opposite fields, "I'm sorry, Miss Tashigi. I hope you live well with your dreams. I have mine to fulfill, and I won't let your innocent judgment stop me."

Even though his intentions towards her were a bit rascally, he was still not a guy who wanted to play when it was time to get serious. Therefore, he was indeed prepared to leave without trying to change her judgment about him.

Her life was hers, and she would see the world the way she wanted to. It wasn't something he could change in the short time they had known each other.

But when he was about to leave…

"Wait!" Tashigi's hands managed to hold onto yours for a moment.

She hesitated for some time, her mind trying to process what was happening. She couldn't understand her feelings, why she was so sad about the fact that Noah was a pirate even though she had only known him for a day.

Her mind began to divide between believing that he was the devil that the Marines says he is, or to believe in what she sees now and know that he is not all that.

And after much thought, she lowered her gaze and just asked a question.

"Will I regret it?"

After a moment of silence between them, with Noah smiling slightly, he continued.

"Only fate will tell, Miss Tashigi." Lifting her chin, he saw in her eyes the reluctance and hopelessness, "But I can tell you will, and not for the reasons you think."

"Your words are confusing!" Growing angry, Tashigi furiously looked at him and demanded answers, "Whether you're guilty or not, just admit it!"

"Two truths can exist at the same time, Miss Tashigi. And if you don't understand now, you will in time."

And moving away from her, he just shrugged before starting to leave.

"Avery!" Tashigi called out to him again, but he quickly disappeared after turning the corner of the alley.

Being alone there, she was feeling so many emotions that it was as if she was on a Roller Coaster, constantly going up and down.

While she was at it, trying to break free from the handcuffs, she suddenly touched the back pocket of her pants and felt a strange lump. As soon as she put her hands there, she took out two objects.

"The keys!" She immediately became happy and was about to remove the handcuffs when the second object fell. And when it came into her field of vision, her emotions became even more tumultuous.

On the ground was Noah's night work to gift Tashigi at some point.

A small kirigami of a rose connected by chains to a sword.

'Noah…'

¨¨¨¨

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