Chapter 52

Chapter may feel rushed. Fast progression going on here.

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"Welcome, Commodore Smoker, or should I say, welcome back to the hell hole."

Within G-2, I stood in front of the current commander of the base, Vice Admiral Comil—the middle-aged man with a hair style that reminded me of Heihachi. He eyes, which were headed at me, were filled with exhaustion.

I lowered my head slightly, "Vice Admiral Comil."

"We don't have much time to relax around. I'll get straight on point right away." Comil turned around and glanced over his messy office table. From the pile of papers, he picked up one specific sheet of paper, "I'm sure that you were given the gist of what's going on right now."

Nodding in response, I stated what I know of, "G-2 is facing the hoard of pirates from the front, with them looking down on this base due to the incidence 2 years ago by 'Goldtooth' Vane. Simultaneously, Lulusia Kingdom is showing signs of rebellion, and as per the request of king Barnon, the force from G-2 was stationed there—who were all found dead just a week ago."

"...Victorious, that idealistic fool. Even at death, he's nothing but a nuisance. Those simplistic pirates, looking down on the might of G-2... the situation currently is troublesome, really." Comil muttered with a frown, with his eyes locked on the paper in his hand, "And requesting an additional force even after that... you are fucking kidding me."

Comil angrily ripped the paper into pieces, before throwing the scraps away from his hand. Then, shifting his eyes on me, he growled,

"Forget about 'helping' or 'subduing' Lulusia whatsoever. Your role is simple, Commodore Smoker,"

Vice Admiral in front of me seemed full of rage. And it wasn't the rage based on injustice, but rather, on his tarnished reputation.

"Investigate as to who took the lives of my men, and punish them."

Without exhibiting any emotion, I replied,

"Yes, sir."

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[Novermber 7th, 1504]

Broken and withered—such was the state of the empty port in which we docked our ship onto. The Lulusia kingdom that lied ahead of our sight, seemed lifeless, with the scrawny civilians powerlessly walking across the street. Their eyes revealed nothing but starvation, and even after sighting our arrival, the commoners—their demeanours remained the same.

What a strange scene it was, for in contrast to this lifeless world, the lively vegetation and sunny weather suggested nothing but peace.

"...What's going on? The report indicated only the small revolts, and not this horrendous state—how can a dystopia like this be considered a 'kingdom' even?" Robin, standing behind me, muttered with anguish.

"This is stupid." Aramaki bickered, "Was Lulusia kingdom ever attacked by the pirates?"

The answer to Aramaki's question was 'no.' Lulusia kingdom, being in proximity with G-2, wasn't susceptible to pirate invasions, after all.

Examining the scene and grabbing Rosinante by the back of his uniform to prevent his fall, I ordered, "31st division, spread throughout the island and retrieve the starved ones. An investigation is to follow only after the civilians are given the necessary treatments. Meanwhile, I will be away to visit the king, and should any complication arise, report to Ensign Aramaki. Is that clear?"

"""Yes, sir!"""

I didn't speak any further. Receiving firm replies from my subordinates, I immediately dashed off to the huge castle that lied right in the middle of the kingdom.

And traveling by air, I glanced at the blurry scene around me with narrowed eyes. While doing so, I noted, that the layout of this enormous kingdom is unnecessarily messy and complicated. The lack of investment led to this pitiful state, which ironically provided the rebels with good sites to hide.

Then, I stopped on top of one roof, upon sighting one man wearing a black cloak. He, standing in the street afar from my current position, clearly had his eyes placed on me. And the emanating Haki from his body... it suggested that this man wasn't a normal fellow.

Then, he turned and walked away, as if telling me to follow.

I briefly looked at the castle that I was heading to, before changing my course and dashing toward the man.

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With Smoker's departure, the rest of the marines quickly dispersed throughout the kingdom, except for Robin and Rosinante, who remained to secure the ship. And Aramaki, who initially ran forth with excitement, was currently standing with a raised eyebrow.

In front of him lied numerous royal guards, who all draped exquisite-looking armours around their bodies. And behind the royal guards was a huge wooden door; they were currently guarding the big warehouse where the food was stored.

And currently, something seemed strange in Aramaki's eyes—their demeanours.

"Eh? Hahahaha!!! Marines again?!"

"Go back, idiots! All of you were so laughably weak—there's no difference whether you come or not!"

They spoke in a regal and unkempt way. And Aramaki, having travelled across various areas of the world, knew that mannerism is an important aspect of royal guards, for they are the 'face' of the kingdom.

The royal guards, laughing and wildly swinging their weapons around, joked among themselves,

"You remember that time when I placed an apple on that guy's head? You tried to hit it, but failed horribly! Heheheh, I bet that those marines never experienced a fun like that!"

One royal guard then grinned, revealing his missing teeth. This served to increase Aramaki's suspicion.

'...Seemingly young, yet missing many teeth already. As far as I can see... a symptom of scurvy. But...'

Scurvy was commonly seen among the sailors and adventurers, but not among these royal guards who are usually well-fed.

"...Oi," Aramaki finally spoke up, with many marine soldiers standing behind him, "Are you guys really the royal guards?"

One of the royal guards snorted, "What, are you blind? If we aren't the royal guards, then what are we?"

Another simply sighed with a feigned disappointment, before rotating his index finger around his temple, for the purpose of mocking Aramaki, "Ignore them, buddy. There are all sorts of people in this world, and some tend to be unbelievably stupid."

Aramaki, growing a tickmark on his forehead, bumped his fists as a grin slowly made its way onto his face, "...Commodore didn't saying anything in regards to beating up some pompous bastards, right?"

One marine soldier, who seemed nervous by Aramaki's evident anger, answered warily, "E-Ensign Aramaki, I'm not sure if this is the safe choice—"

BOOM!

Then, a cannon was shot from nowhere all of a sudden, crumbling down one side of the warehouse. The nearby royal guards have all knocked away from the sight, and as the smoke rose from the area of impact,

"Mmmmfufufu!!! Niceeee shottt~!!" One big-headed man with curly blue hair, wearing a very revealing attire and feminine make-up, laughed while supporting a cannon on his shoulder.

"..." On his left stood a huge man with bear-like prints on his palms, and behind the two of them stood many civilians, who were holding weapons of their own.

"Tch... you weirdo thieves again, after all those failures?!"

The big-headed make-up man then clenched his heart, "Ouch... your words damaged my heart... I... I..."

the huge man simply stared forward emotionlessly, having been used by his companion's antics,

"I'm fiinneee~!!!"

Not bothering with the strange action of the big-headed man, the royal guards, immediately grabbing their own weapons, blocked the newly generated hole into the warehouse. One among them, turning his head to Aramaki and the other marines, shouted, "Hey!! You marines help us as well!!"

The huge man then calmly turned his eyes at Aramaki and narrowed his eyes, "...Marine wasn't supposed to be part of our plan."

Aramaki, with his hands in his pockets, frowned. Tilting his head in displeasure, Aramaki turned his head and asked his subordinate, "Hey, what do you think we should do?"

"I-I..." The marine stuttered nervously, "Um... help the royal guards...?"

"Hm..." Aramaki closed his eyes as if thinking, with his arms crossed. Then, he sat down on the ground,

"Nah."

Opening his eyes, he stated,

"Until Commodore Smoker orders, I'm going to do nothing but watch—"

Aramaki had to stop.

Boom. Boom. The earth vibrated as a ridiculously muscular man made his way from afar with a greatsword on his shoulder, while wearing a golden armour. This man was even bigger than the huge man with bear-paw-like prints on his palms, and Aramaki, with his eyes widened, muttered,

"...Warmog the 'Big Force.'" Aramaki immediately stood back up with his fists clenched, unable to comprehend the scene unveiled in front of him.

"Capt—General Warmog!" On the other hand, the royal guards' faces brightened up in relief.

"Oho... Mad Bull. Long time no see." Warmog, snorting in amusement, said while slamming down his huge greatsword, "Since when did you become a marine?"

"Rahahaha..." Aramaki growled, "And since when did you become a 'general?'"

"Things happened, my friend." Warmog, as if uninterested, turned his head away from Aramaki. Facing the rebels, he then said with his deep voice, "And a piece of advice: know that I'm in the 'right' at the current moment, and not these criminals in front of me."

Upon Warmog grinning devilishly, the big-headed man and bear-paw man revealed a serious gleam, and the atmosphere suddenly became intense.

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"...We don't have much time."

I stood in the dark alley, as the man wearing dark cloak muttered with his back facing me. He, turning his face slightly, placed his black-coloured eyes on me,

"Cipher Pols are deep in this kingdom, and soon enough, they will come to question my whereabouts—even with my friends buying some time."

I, with my hands in my pockets, said impassively, "Then speak. What is it that you wish to relay."

"..." The man fully turned. On the left side of his face lied a strange tattoo pattern, and straight from one glance, I knew, that the man standing in front of me was none other than Monkey D. Dragon himself. He then opened his mouth,

"'White Hunter' Smoker, recently promoted to the rank of 'Commodore.' I've been monitoring you for a while, and deemed you credible... to some extent. I am the leader of the 'Revolutionary Army,' and that's all that you have to know for now." Dragon stated seriously, "Currently, this kingdom is rotten. The previously wise king, Barnon, has fallen into the world of pleasures, and pillaged all wealth and goods from civilians for his entertainment. And the royal guards who you will soon come across... are the pirates."

I listened with an equally serious demeanour, as Dragon continued speaking,

"The 'Warmog' pirates, they are affiliated with the huge underworld organization that has been rising recently. The leading figure of the organization goes by the alias of 'Joker,' and his main means of profit is none other than the Human Auction shop... where king Barnon is one of the known VIPs. These pirates were provided by Joker as the 'service,' but I am sure that Joker has an ulterior motive."

Joker. Dragon's words made me surprised.

'...So Donquixote Doflamingo is behind this?'

I asked, "...What is it that you want from me?"

"I want you to hear the pleas of those civilians. Open your eyes, and see for yourself—" Dragon, turning around, then began to walk away,

"—of what it truly means to be righteous."

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In one room, a man wearing a black tuxedo held onto a dial connected to the Den Den Mushi. From a Den Den Mushi, a voice was spoken,

<<Yes, the two men present among us rebels, are the executives whom you should be focusing on! Their names are the following: Ivankov and Kuma! And their leader is the man with a strange tattoo on left half of his face, who goes by the name 'Dragon!'>>

"...And the location of the base?" The man asked.

<<...Basement of the building named 'Hank's Funny Drink!'>> Then, the Den Den Mushi suddenly seemed nervous, <<H-hey... you will keep your side of the promise, right?>>

"Why, of course, Seki." The man replied coolly, "We aren't some scums, but the agents serving the World Government—CP8. Rest assured."