Chapter 38

Ey, managed to get one done by working little by little. Hope y'all enjoy it!

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"White Snake."

Within the city of Veto, the huge load of white smoke suddenly erupted out, engulfing down the whole ground in an instant.

Swoo...

As the civilians kept themselves silent in stupefaction from this sudden development, the smoke that harmlessly swarmed across the city, began to condense and morph into multitudes of giant snakes, which frighteningly swam through the streets, looking for their prey.

BANG!

And in this calamity, the noises of guns being fired were heard from all around.

"W-what the hell!!! Someone tell me what is going on—gahh!!!"

BANG! BANG!

The mafias—who were spread out throughout the town—all attempted to retaliate by using their weapons, however, the bullets simply flew through the entities of smoke without any effect. Subsequently, those snakes coiled around them, rendering them immobilized.

And as Smoker, the teenage marine who hasn't moved a step yet, clenched his hand,

"Return."

at a rapid pace, the previously spread-out snakes of smoke whooshed back at their master, along with the tied-up mafias from all around the city.

Ruthless and uncaring of the muffled cries of horror from the mafias, Smoker now watched as hundreds of them were now laid out in front of him, still immobilized and held up in the air by the huge volume of dense smoke.

"H... hey..." In one building, where a group of civilians were hiding, one old man whispered in a realization, "Don't tell me..."

As the other civilians' eyes turned to him, the old man, whose gaze was still fixated at the scene outside, gulped,

"...The recently risen dark horse of the Marine, one who chased down the countless criminals in the dangerous sea of the Grand Line—all within a year..."

This old man—he was someone who ensured not to miss out on the news, finding those papers the greatest joy in his miserable life as the mafias' slave.

"...After the Pirate King's execution, the pirates have begun to thrive greater than they ever did. Within this era, termed the 'Great Age of Pirates' by Morgans... 'Sir' Crocodile, 'Nightmare' Gecko Moria, 'Heavenly Demon' Donquixote Doflamingo, 'Martini' Hook, 'Hell Blaze' Diego, 'Red Hair' Shanks, and 'Marine Hunter' Dracaule Mihawk—numerous super rookies made their names spread wide, swarming through the sea fearlessly."

His voice trembled. His heart started beating fast. His instinct was telling him, that the opportunity for change has arrived on this island.

"With the named marines being occupied with the three catastrophes of the New World, the new generation of the Marine was speculated to fall short in comparison to the pirates... all except for one mere teenager who appeared out of nowhere, one whom the pirates began to call 'White Menace' for not having failed once to catch his target...

Without a doubt, the one in front of us right now, is none other than—"

The old man's eyes gleamed in delight,

"—Smoker."

"W-who are you...?" One mafia, still caught up by the smoke, asked fearfully. The dominating mafia who oppressed the civilians and tortured them under the excuse of 'protecting,' has now become the prey—all the civilians, after hearing the old man's remark, spectated the scene with anticipation.

"Why," Smoker raised his hand up, with his index finger outstretched toward the man, "I am naught but a soon-turning-fourteen teenage boy, who was miraculously saved by a strong-willed girl."

Then, he flicked the extended finger,

PUK!

and the mafia who had just spoken was now found dead, with the blood gushing out of his pierced skull.

"HEY!!!" Another mafia then cried out of desperation, "W-what is a marine like you doing here?!! Our boss made a deal with you guys, didn't he—"

PUK!

"You call assholes like those marines?"

The smoke immobilizing the mafias morphed once more. Swirling around the clump of people, it rushed to form a dense, white-coloured sphere that completely encased all the mafias, before,

"Black Room."

it suddenly turned pitch black in colour. The witnesses then saw,

BOOOOOOM!

the enormous explosion in the sky, ending the lives of hundreds of mafias in a single go.

Thud. Thud. The corpses, one by one, fell back to the street like rain. Burnt to crisp and emitting smoke from their bodies, Robin, who stood at the back with amazement in her eyes, unconsciously tightened her fists,

'...Incredible.'

That was the only remark she could think of.

Smoker, who stood impassively as the corpses continued to fall all around, was now holding a Den Den Mushi in his right hand; it seemed that he retrieved it from one of the mafias during the short span of time that he had.

Without any wait, he initiated the call.

<<Purururu, Purururu—

...Sparrow.>>

"Jack."

<<Swan.>>

"Elizabeth."

<<Legs.>>

"Jimmy."

<<...Name and status.>>

"Smoker, the lieutenant assigned under Vice Admiral Kuzan's command. I am here to report my survival on the island of Veto, within the West Blue."

<<...The codes that you've spoken are outdated. If we were to consider the time that you've gone missing, it is plausible to believe in your words, however—a-ah, lieutenant Gion?!>>

<<Smoker?!!>> The voice in the Den Den Mushi changed to a feminine one, bringing Smoker to a smile.

"Gion."

<<Where the hell were you?!!>>

"I was freaking unconscious for a week or so, after getting a nice beatdown by Jaguar D. Saul and almost drowning, and,"

<<See? I warned that going would be a bad idea, idiot!!>>

Ignoring Gion's words, Smoker continued, "am currently in the process of destroying one mafia organization that's been overruling the island."

<<Ughh, don't tell me that you got into another trouble!!>> The Den Den Mushi, growing a tickmark, sighed, <<Ha... listen. Vice Admiral Kuzan left our division, and we now fall under the command of Vice Admiral Stainless. Currently, we are heading toward Suspiria with Vice Admiral Momonga's division, to catch Gecko Moria. Judging by how Veto lies on the opposite side of our pathway, there will be quite a delay until we reach there; tell me, are you able to handle it on your own?>>

"Gion," I stated firmly, "You know me."

<<...Tch, stay safe, idiot.>>

With that, the call ended, and Robin, who was gazing Smoker with curiosity regarding the call he just made, realized that they were now surrounded by the previously cowering civilians, who revealed themselves from all around.

'...A successful showmanship,' Robin noted keenly. The people around them, from her perspective, stared at Smoker with hope in their eyes.

"A-are you truly a marine...?" One man, the scrawny one who seemed to be nearing death by starvation, timidly mumbled, "so y-you... you haven't abandoned us after all..."

"Under no circumstance does Marine overlook the tyranny by criminals." Smoker, standing confidently, spoke in a calm tone, "The fact that this horrific state of the city wasn't known to the headquarter means one thing: Giancana family made a deal with the corrupted marines, to tolerate their control over this island."

Bowing strictly, Smoker then said, "I apologize for making late. However, I promise you—the sufferings that tortured you for years, all of them will come to an end today."

The civilians whispered and murmured among themselves. Then, the old-aged man asked warily, "So... will we be able to give a proper funeral to our dead family members?"

A young-aged boy held his hands together, "W-will I... be able to eat as much as I want?"

Smoker, in response, gave them a confident smile,

"Without a doubt."

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"FOOD!!!"

In a huge mansion of Giancana family, an individual with a hoarse voice screeched,

"BRING ME MORE FOOD!!! THIS ISN'T ENOUGH!!!"

"...For how long..." Giancana Angelo, the boss of the family who stayed in his office room, pinched the bridge of his nose with a grimace, "...must we tolerate this demeanour of our 'esteemed' guest,"

Raising his head up and looking at one old-aged man in front of him, who wore the white doctor's attire, Angelo growled,

"Dr. Romand?"

"FOOD!!!!!"

Ignoring the pompous cry that resounded all the way, Romand replied stoically, "His survival itself was a miracle. His entire chin was ripped apart from his body, and coupled with the malnutrition and miraculous escape from the Calm Belt—even though he is the devil fruit user—the fact that he managed to rejuvenate up to this extent with the anger plant blood and food alone, is an unbelievable—"

SLAM! Slamming his fist on the table, Angelo interrupted Roman with a deep frown, "Get to the point already!"

Romand, letting out a small sigh, informed, "At least a month is needed still."

"...A month." Angelo, upon receiving Romand's words, leaned back on his chair, seeming depleted. Looking up at the ceiling, he then muttered, "...Is this investment truly worth it?"

"I initially viewed this as an opportunity, to attract a powerful individual into my force and conquer this sea of West Blue. If that guest of mine were to support me, I will, without a doubt, be able to defeat all those despicable bastards..." Sighing once more, Angelo shook his head, "But the demand of this man is getting more and more ridiculous. At this rate, before the man fully heals, this island will first run out of its inhabitants..."

Then, as the room fell into silence with Romand standing still, a knock on the door was heard.

"What is it," Angelo, lighting up a cigar, said with a restored calmness.

"May I clean the room now, boss?" In response, a young voice of a man was heard from the outside.

"...Enter."

Just as Angelo stated, the door creaked open and one obese-looking man of short height entered the room.

"I don't recognize you." Romand, raising his eyebrow at the appearance of this young-aged man, asked, "Who may you be?"

Immediately lowering his head as a sign of respect, the man said, "I'm the newbie of family, having joined just a week ago. I go by the name Capone Bege, and it is my honour to be of use to our great boss and head doctor."

"Hu..." Letting out a puff of smoke, Angelo stood up from his seat and began to walk out of the room, "Make sure that everything is cleaned thoroughly."

"Yes, boss!"

With Bege's firm reply, Angelo exited the room along with Roman on his back. Walking out of the room, they were immediately met with the sight of a huge man whose height reached nearly 7 meters in height, with his chin having been patched up, vigorously eating away the mountain of food in front of him.

"'Nightmare' Gecko Moria..."

Angelo, leaning on the rail, muttered to himself, "You better be worth the investment."