Chapter 68

"One week." Smoker, looking directly at Senor Pink, stated, "We have around a week of time before arriving at Marineford."

Raising up his right hand, Smoker stretched out three fingers, "And there are three choices that I will choose from—regarding your future that is."

Senor Pink frowned in annoyance, but Smoker, ignoring the former's negative attitude, continued,

"Option number one, you get executed before reaching the Impel Down."

In Smoker's standard, most of the criminals belonged within this category.

"Option number two, you spend the rest of your days locked up in the Impel Down."

The usual instance in which Smoker will choose this option is when a devil fruit that the criminal possesses far outweighs the criminal's known danger. One known example is 'Foxy.'

"And option number three—"

"What's the fucking point here?" Senor Pink, letting out a hollow chuckle, cut Smoker off in the middle of his sentence, "True men don't compromise."

Smoker, raising an eyebrow out of hilarity, watched as Senor Pink bickered,

"I'm a criminal. I've killed several and obeyed Doflamingo's orders. Being an executive under him, I too received my share of benefits, and regardless of whatever bullshit you blabber, what I've done can't be justified."

Smoker, snorting in response, unsheathed Shusui. The black blade was shoved through the gap between metal bars, and its tip was pointed right at Senor Pink's neck.

"Then, is this the ending that you desire?" Smoker asked.

"There is no more suitable punishment for me than death," Senor Pink replied, "but I do wish that I had several lives—such that I can be killed in accordance to the number of innocents whom I killed throughout my life."

Senor Pink's eyes shifted down to the black blade right in front of him. He could smell the strong metallic scent of it, however, he instinctively knew that such scent wasn't the inherent quality of the blade.

"...Well, what are you waiting for," Senor Pink commented while stretching his neck, "Conduct the justice, White Hunter."

Senor Pink closed his eyes and took a light sigh. He was ready to meet his end and fall into the bottom of the pit—to the hell which he thought he deserved. However,

"Justice... there it is, the very word that disgusts me."

Smoker, contrary to Senor Pink's expectations, retracted Shusui back. Upon hearing Smoker's comment, Senor Pink opened his eyes back up with confusion.

"And death?" Smoker said impassively, "Death... it isn't suitable enough to be considered a punishment. An eternal repose—death, to some extent, can be considered the true freedom that those pirates seek for. In my perspective, dying is a cowardly means of escaping from your burdens."

Senor Pink's eyes widened as Smoker leaned in,

"If you killed thousands, save a hundred times more. Visit every single victim whom you inflicted harm upon, and ask for their forgiveness—regardless of whether they forgive or not. Now, doesn't this sound harder than the simple act of dying?"

Smoker, sheathing Shusui back, grinned while extending his hand to Senor Pink through the metal bars,

"Option number three, become a marine."

Senor Pink muttered in disbelief, "...Oi, you are shitting with me, aren't you—"

"If you're a true man," Smoker, cutting Senor Pink off, stated, "Then fucking accept your punishment like one."

"...Tch," Senor Pink, gritting his teeth with multitudes of emotions swirling within him, snatched Smoker's hand and held it firm, "Damn you..."

"Bwahaha... welcome aboard, 'Chore Boy' Pink."

__________

A day passed by. As marines strictly watched any potential danger, Smoker gazed up at the blue sky that didn't contain a single shred of cloud.

'Calm Belt surely is boring,' Smoker thought before taking out a coin and flicking it to the News Coo who was awaiting his payment. The News Coo eagerly bit onto the coin and happily flew away, leaving Smoker by himself.

"Chore Boy!" Smoker then yelled while locking his eyes on the newspaper, "Get started with the cleaning already! For how long must I endure standing on top of a dirty deck?!"

"Haa..." And in response, the man with sunglasses covering his eyes, Senor Pink, now stood with standard marine attire on him and a mop in his right hand, "Why the fuck do I need to clean—GAHH!!"

BOOM!

At the next moment, Senor Pink's eyes popped out in pain before he fell on the deck face-first, due to Akehende—a quite large man in terms of size—suddenly crashed on top of him.

Rosinante, who's been watching this scene from some distance away, squinted his eyes in amazement, "How is it that that dude always ends up falling down from the sky?"

Aramaki, who stood right next to Rosinante, pointed at the adjacent marine ship, "That pink-haired lady, she seems to have quite a temper. Rahahaha, that guy and the other wimpy one keep getting beaten over and over again!"

"FUCKKKK!!!!!" And on the other hand, Shu was found screaming in misery as he held onto a rusty sword, "Is this all that my power is capable of?! Why can't I turn into fire or something?!!"

Senor Pink, kicking Akehende away from him and standing back up, clenched his teeth hard. However, calming himself down by taking in a deep breath, Senor Pink eventually began to wipe the deck with the mop.

"Koala, wait over there, don't run outside without your clothes! Seriously, you're going to catch a cold!"

"Ahahaha!"

Two ships surely were lively and noisy. However, Smoker, not bothered by such surroundings, gazed into the newspaper with a serious expression on his face.

*Corruption among the marines?! The former Rear Admiral Diez Barrels was found plundering innocent civilians in the Artxe town! Commodore Bastille discovered the evil exploit and stopped any further progression, however, Diez Barrels successfully escaped with his subordinates! The headquarter...*

'...Is this supposed to happen?'

In the canon, the specific information regarding Diez Barrels's treachery was unknown. However, judging by the fact that Diez Barrels's discovery and bargain of Op Op fruit occurred in the year 1511, Smoker came to deduce that Barrels's exposure happened way earlier than it was supposed to.

'...Then will his discovery of Op Op fruit also be accelerated?' Smoker thought with a newfound hope within him, 'If so, then... can the Flevance incident be prevented?'

Flevance, the country also known as the 'White City.' It was the very hometown of Trafalgar D. Water Law, and Smoker was aware of what kind of tragedy this country will soon undergo.

'...No. In the first place, is Op Op truly necessary to prevent the incident?'

Flevance was the country that Smoker had his eyes on since the last year, where the hereditary disease named 'Amber Lead Syndrome' was recently discovered and was currently under research. In the future, the disease will be wrongly deduced to be 'contagious,' and the diseased civilians within the country will be trapped within that white country without any aid.

'If I begin acting now, and if there are more brains involved in this matter...'

Then perhaps, the incident can be prevented—or so Smoker thought.

"...What are you concerned of?" Then, from Smoekr's side, a feminine voice was heard. Turning to the source of voice, Smoker came in sight of Robin, who looked back at him with an evident curiosity behind her stoic face.

Smoker, taking in a deep breath while passing the newspaper to her, replied, "A new task for us to work on—after our visit to Marineford, that is."

__________

[September 28th, 1505; Marineford]

"...This just feels wrong," Said Senor Pink, as he gazed at the triumphant scenery of the Marine headquarter, "I... I was a pirate just a month or so ago, you know."

Two marine ships, after the long detour from Knockdown island, due to the necessity of returning the captured women back to their home, finally arrived back at the Marineford.

"Hina tired. Hina requires a fine glass of wine."

"Eh? Aren't you just fifteen in terms of age though?"

"Rahahaha! This place surely is the same as always!"

"...I heard that Commodore Bastille is bedridden right now. Has he recovered, I wonder."

The marines in the ships let out remarks of their own. Smoker, staring at the Marineford with excitement of his own, grinned as his eyes found Garp, who's been waiting for him at the dock with his arms crossed.

"You've done quite the job this time around, brat!!"

Smoker shouted back heartily, "Ey, long time no see, Garp-sensei! Been busy dealing with a string bastard, you know!"

Garp grinned, "Have you brought some souvenirs?"

Smoker replied cockily, "Heh, I knew you'd ask that, and brought some rice crackers!"

"Now that's my boy,"

Then,

""Bwahahahaha!!!""

the two of them laughed simultaneously, earning sweatdrops out of others.

__________

__________

"...Damn that Bastille," In the middle of one Marine ship, the man with a tattered justice coat around him snarled, "It was one small village in the New World! What's the chance of encountering another marine division there?"

This man was none other than Diez Barrels, the former marine who betrayed the organization and was currently on the run—along with his fellow former marines.

One former marine among them then asked, "What now, Rear Admiral—"

"I'm no longer the Rear Admiral," Barrels responded with a frown, "...Call me captain instead."

"Captain...?" Another muttered, "Are we pirates now?"

Barrels clicked his tongue, "Tch... if we aren't pirates, then what are we?!"

BAM! Barrels then slapped his hand on top of the table where one bounty poster lied. It read:

*'Maruader' Diez Barrels. Wanted Dead or Alive. 330,000,000 Beli.*

"Quite a huge sum that they placed on my head..." Barrels growled, "Damn it...!!!"

They were currently sailing through the Calm Belt. Barrels knew that judging by the direction of their navigation, they will eventually reach the North Blue.

"...Think, Barrels. Through what path can you guarantee your survival?"

"Oi, Rear—captain Barrels," Then, another former marine asked, "What about that son of yours? Didn't he get caught by that Bastille—"

"Whatever happens to him is none of my concern," Drake replied coldly, "If you have enough time to worry for that kid, think instead, of a way for us to survive—"

Barrels had to stop. After all, his eyes, looking at the back of the ship, came in sight of one man who suddenly appeared out of nowhere. The other soldiers, noticing Barrels's sudden shock and turned back to see what Barrels was surprised at.

"...Why, hello there,"

And they saw the man with long and messy hair, with old and dry-looking clothes, sitting on top of the rail. This outward appearance seemed to render it harder for the former marines to recognize the man, Barrels seemed to have noticed the man's identity immediately.

"...What are you doing here on my ship—no, how did you get here?" Barrels whispered, "No—how are you alive even?! As far as I remember, you were lost in the Calm Belt after the defeat a year ago—"

"Ah yes, what a torturous time it has been," The man said with a deep sigh, "Barely surviving a day by eating the raw internal flesh of a Sea King, managing to be expelled out of that Sea King onto the strange island full of ridiculous animals, meeting those women who used a strange power named Haki, and finally returning back to the sea, only to be lost in the New World and end up here... many things surely happened."

That man hopped down from the rail and stood right in front of Barrels,

"Diez Barrels... I haven't expected to meet you here either. Now, if you folks were the usual marines, I would've tortured you to death, however," The man then grinned in a crazed manner, "I don't consider traitors as one."

Barrels unconsciously felt oppressed by this one man in front of him. As he unconsciously took a step back, the man declared,

"So I'll be generous this time around. From here on, this ship and your lives—all are mine." The man opened his arms wide, "Serve me. Be my loyal crewmates. In return, I will preserve your lives."

Barrels clenched his fists hard in anger, but they eventually loosened powerlessly.

After all, the man standing in front of him was none other than 'Sir' Crocodile, the pirate who's returned from the dead—

"...Yes, captain."

—with an oppressive Haki that Barrels couldn't fathom.