Chapter 65

Boom. Boom. The noises quaked from the outside all the way to the banquet. The nobles, expressing fear and wariness, approached the stationed marines.

"Ma'am," And Bayard, smiling gently, replied, "It is naught but a trivial thing. Soon, the noises will cease, so please calm yourself down."

"B-but...!! Are you sure about that?!" One curly-haired woman wearing a luxurious dress said, "I can see those people running crazy!"

"And among them are marines whom I previously sent," Bayard stated softly, "There is nothing to worry here."

At the back, Aramaki sat by with a confident grin on his face. Across the table, there was Tensei, who gazed at the former with his arms crossed.

Onigumo, standing in front of a window and assessing the on-going situation outside, had a default frown on his face.

'...The noises,' Robin, sitting along with the rest of the 31st division, speculated, 'without a doubt, they are from the battle between Smoker and Heavenly Demon.'

It was a strange scene, Robin remarked. These marines, playing fools and acting as if knowing nothing, prevented them, the 31st division, from reaching out to their commander to help him out.

<...Let me tell you, about the case of Vice Admiral Victorious that I came across.>

Robin thus deduced, that this was yet another attempt of the World Government to—

'—no, something doesn't make sense,' Robin denied her own deduction, 'Smoker, disregarding all his deeds, is Vice Admiral Garp's sole apprentice. Also, he's a well-known individual to the public; there is no reason for the World Government to target Smoker when the benefits he is capable of bringing far outweigh his rebellious nature... ah.'

She was overthinking, she realized.

'...Slavery, Smoker's extensive measures to prevent a single case. He must've earned the remorse of Celestial Dragons, and they, being the regular customers of the Human Auction shop, directly allowed Doflamingo's permit to kill Smoker... that is probably the case.'

Koala, sitting near her, was found to be busily chewing the food in her mouth. The other marine soldiers of the 31st division expressed their nervousness, looking back and forth between Aramaki and the direction in which Smoker exited.

…

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Then, the clear sounds of someone walking resounded across the area. Bayard, Tensei, and Onigumo simultaneously shifted their eyes at the exit of the banquet hall.

"...So it seems," Onigumo muttered, "that the owner of this park finally decided to show his face—"

The three of them stiffened as the walking man wasn't revealed to be who they thought he was.

"Pff—" Aramaki, upon turning his head around and sighting the familiar face, burst out laughing, "Rahahaha!!! What took you so long, Smoker-san?!"

Said man, Smoker, revealed an amused grin of his own as he made his way to Aramaki and Robin's table, before,

Tap. Smoker was stopped on by Bayard, who placed his hand on Smoker's shoulder.

"...Why, Smoker," Bayard, smiling in a friendly manner, asked, "I've been wondering where you've gone off to."

Smoker, narrowing his eyes at the orange-haired Vice Admiral, swatted the latter's hand away.

Creak—. Tensei stood up from his seat. Onigumo moved his legs toward where Smoker faced Bayard. The three Vice Admirals stood in front of Smoker.

"I smell... a metallic scent." Bayard whispered, "What were you doing on the outside?"

The three pairs of eyes stared at Smoker frighteningly, asking for an explanation.

Smoker, revealing nothing but impassiveness, replied coldly, "I thought you knew."

Smoker and Bayard glared at one another, and the atmosphere in the banquet became intense. The nobles, unsure of why marines were opposing one another, looked to their left and right warily while taking a few steps back. Their royal forces, readying themselves for a potential fight, stood in front of their masters.

"...Rear Admiral Smoker, what happened to—" Bayard, whose face darkened, was about to ask. However,

"Bayard," Tensei, placing his hand on Bayard's shoulder, interrupted the latter, "There are too many eyes watching."

"...tch." Clicking his tongue, Bayard wrinkled up his face. Placing his hands in his pockets, Bayard instead muttered, "...You've forsaken your duty to protect king Moqueca. Though your subordinates stayed in your stead, your long-lived absence during the duty cannot be justified—"

"Yes, yes," Smoker, expressing nothing but annoyance, walked past the three of them, "Whine, report, whatever. Do what you want to do, Vice Admiral Bayard."

And finally, Onigumo, unable to bear Smoker's attitude any longer, growled, "What happened to Heavenly Demon, Smoker?!"

Bayard and Tensei urgently turned their heads at Onigumo, and Smoker, upon hearing such sentence, grinned victoriously with his back facing the three Vice Admirals.

"...So you admit that you were aware," Smoker spoke coldly without facing the Vice Admirals, "of the ambush that pirates set up for me."

"What? From what basis are you assuming such an atrocious—"

"Metallic scent. How is that enough of an evidence for you to assume that I fought Heavenly Demon of all possibilities, the Warlord who's allied to the World Government?" Smoker bickered, "Isn't Marine supposed to be an ally for him?"

Onigumo froze. Smoker, slightly turning his head, stared at Onigumo through the corners of his eyes. The shrewdness that Onigumo saw within Smoker's eyes—they resembled those of snake's.

"So you knew..." Smoker chuckled, "...and you didn't intervene. The so-called Vice Admiral of Marine, letting a fellow marine get attacked by a Warlord... where is justice in that?"

Tensei frowned at Onigumo, who seemed to have paled up in realization of how much impact his question had.

Bayard seemed to be in a deep thought, trying to make his way out. Finally, he spoke up,

"...Well done, Rear Admiral Smoker."

He forced a shaky smile on his face,

"So you managed to stand victorious against Heavenly Demon who betrayed the World Government... justice has been served."

""...Huh?"" Smoker and Aramaki both let out a dumbfounded remark, before,

"RAHAHAHAHA!!!!" Aramaki rolled on the ground, laughing uncontrollably, and,

"...Hah," Smoker snorted in hilarity, "Sure. Let's go with that."

The three Vice Admirals couldn't do anything but watch as Smoker walked away from them. The nobles whispered among themselves, confused and unable to fully comprehend what just happened.

"King Moqueca," Smoker lazily spoke as he walked toward the main exit of the banquet.

"Y-yeah?" Moqueca, who was spectating the scene, perked up upon Smoker's call,

"I apologize for my inconvenience, but it seems that I am far too occupied currently to serve as a guard for you."

Smoker pointed his thumb at Onigumo, "Hence, from here on, Vice Admiral Onigumo will take on the role in my stead."

Onigumo immediately retorted, "Rear Admiral!! Since when did I agree to that?!! I am already assigned to—"

"Yes, you didn't agree yet, I'm well aware," Smoker stated, "but if you don't fulfill the duty, king Moqueca will be left alone. Besides, you are a spider, and a spider is quite good at dealing with bugs—including aceuqom."

"Aceu... what?"

"Ohhh?!!" Moqueca, on the other hand, expressed his delight, "Sammmmmbarabarabaaaa!!!!! Instant accept!!!!!"

If there was anything that he could do to prevent himself from getting beaten up, Moqueca will accept it.

Ignoring Onigumo, Smoker opened the door. Aramaki, Robin, and others within the 31st division immediately followed, with Aramaki still chuckling uncontrollably with his hand over his eyes.

Creak—

And as the door opened, everyone came to see,

"...Eh?"

Rosinante, Senor Pink, and numerous women with bandages wrapped around their wounds.

Bayard, squinting his eyes in confusion, muttered, "What in the hell..."

No one here was able to assume that these women, all of who were from Amazon Lily, were supposed to be the 'slaves' prepared for the auction.

Then, slam. The door closed behind them, with Smoker and his division having exited the banquet.

__________

Smoker, looking at Rosinante, said, "Well done, Rosie—"

"Rosinante," Rosinante corrected with a genuine smile, having cleared up the darkness within his heart.

"—Rosinante," Smoker nodded with a look of approval. Robin's eyes widened upon hearing this, but quickly masked her emotion.

Then, Smoker looked at Senor Pink and asked, "...And what about this man?"

"Senor Pink, and yes, I'm aware," Rosinante stated, "that he was an executive of Donquixote family."

Senor Pink, with cuffs on his wrists, was found dazing off at the blue sky above.

"However..."

Rosinante then shifted his eyes to women. And among them, one spoke up, "...Men are trash. But that one... he helped us while we were locked up."

Rosinante turned back to Smoker and muttered, "As you can see, I was unsure of what to do with him."

Smoker walked up to Senor Pink and inspected the latter. Then he said, "Place him in a cell provided on our ship. Our purpose of coming here has been dealt with, and out utmost concern at the current moment is to leave this place—"

"H-hold on!!"

Then, the voice of a teenage girl interrupted him. Turning around, Smoker came in sight of two girls, one with green hair and another with orange hair. The one with orange hair shouted in desperation,

"M-my sister isn't here with us!! She must still be down there somewhere!!!"

Rosinante widened his eyes, "...There is another one?"

The green-haired girl fidgeted nervously, "S-she was taken away from us, and I... I'm unsure of what they did to her."

Smoker, crouching down, asked seriously, "What's the name of your sister, and how does she look like."

"...Boa Hancock. She has straight black hair, and she's excessively beautiful."

"Noted," Smoker stood back up and ordered Aramaki, "Take everyone back and set sail. I'll be returning with the last one before you're far from this island."

Aramaki saluted with a grin, "Got it, Smoker-san!"

__________

It was dark. It was cold. Staying locked up in this lifeless cell, the young girl named Boa Hancock shivered.

September 2nd. Around two weeks ago, she was celebrating her 12th birthday with her sisters and others, excited about getting to join the Kuja pirates' expedition.

However, the sudden appearance of one despicable man—that man who was able to manipulate sand—brought chaos to the Amazon Lily, and then...

<Attackkkk!!!!>

there was the abrupt invasion of Donquixote family. The warriors of Amazon Lily were far too injured to fight, and many of them, including Hancock and her sisters, were caught—thus leading to the present.

"All... all men are trash." Hancock whispered in a shaky tone, curling up to preserve as much heat as she could, "...Sandersonia... Marigold..."

She felt powerless and exhausted, with a strange cuff on her ankle sipping away her strength.

She overheard previously, the conversations about how she was going to be the 'grand prize' for an 'auction.' In addition, she was forced to eat a repulsive fruit with a horrifying taste. Ever since she was captured and brought to this place, there was nothing but misery.

"...Help."

Hancock shut her eyes tight and whimpered, wishing to escape from the reality.

"Help... please..."

She felt lonely. She missed her home. She wanted to see again, that lively forest full of green and the vast ocean that evoked nothing but awe. The everyday life full of fun and freedom, chatting and hunting with her sisters... she, after being locked away from those experiences, came to realize how valuable they were.

"Please... someone..." Hancock shivered from the cold. Tears flowed out of her eyes and soaked the cold, solid platform below. And then,

Clank—

The lock fell down to the floor, and the door made out of metal bars slowly creaked open. Then, the sound of one man walking echoed throughout the area. Hancock, getting goosebumps on her skin, scuffled away to the corner of the cell upon realizing that someone was coming on her way.

Then, within Hancock's view appeared one tall man, wearing a white coat around his shoulders. This man... Hancock's never seen him in her life. He wasn't the same as those pirates who brought her here.

"...Finally found you." This man, kneeling on one knee, matched Hancock's eye level. He then asked softly, "...You must be Hancock, right?"

Hancock covered her head with her frail arms. She then whispered in fear, "W-who... who are you, man..."

That man, smiling gently, held his hand out,

"I'm Smoker."

Hancock gulped, afraid of the unknown. The first male whom she met, and many more she's come across all until now, all of them were malicious fellows who did nothing but inflict harm on her. However, this man named Smoker... seemed a little different than them.

Will he hurt her just like others? Is he giving her false hope, just to throw her into a bigger pit? She didn't know, and she had no way of finding out. However, she gathered up her courage. Even if it was a false hope, she wanted to dream—of returning back to the life she missed so much.

Therefore, she slowly extended her shaking hand, and placed it on top of Smoker's outstretched hand.

And there began, the miracle.