Epilogue

"And then? And then?"

2 years passed since then.

"Is that it? What happened after?"

Sitting on a chair that lied in a bar in his hometown, Foosha Village, the child, Monkey D. Luffy, asked excitedly.

"What about the treasure? One Piece?"

"It was destroyed along with Blackbeard himself."

"Ehh? That's lame..."

Sulking, Luffy returned to his food.

And feeling exhausted from the task of taking care of a child, the woman, Robin, groaned.

"Garp-san, I swear..."

"Robin! You said that you have a mission in the East Blue?"

Back then, Garp, while picking his nose, said with a grin,

"Take kids with you! It's about time they visited their hometown!"

"...I'd rather go on multiple missions at once than have kids dangling by my side."

Grumbling, she picked up a glass of rum and chugged it down in a single go.

"One more, please."

"A-Are you sure, Robin-san?"

Nervously, the owner of the bar, Makino, asked,

"I think you had too much!"

"Is it?"

As Robin tilted her head and Luffy continued to devour the food, the door at the back opened.

There were three children, each dressed up in a differently coloured costume that resembled that of a marine.

"You guys?"

They were Ace, Law, and Sabo, the blonde child whom Luffy, Ace, and Law made friends with.

"Raa—hahaha!"

Ace then laughed with his hands on his waist. He, dressed up in green, seemed to be imitating one whom Hina was very familiar with.

"What are you doing, Ace?"

"I'm not Ace! I'm Admiral Ryokugyu!"

Deadpanning, Robin then turned to Law, who was blushing in embarrassment.

"...They dragged me into this."

"And? What are you?"

"...Admiral Chatora. Brown tiger."

"Bastille, you mean."

Robin snorted. She could clearly see that a kid within Law clearly enjoyed it.

And finally, she turned her eyes to Sabo, who was fuming.

"Why am I the only girl?!"

He yelled at Ace and Law,

"What was it again? Kuro... usagi? Black rabbit? Ugh, I don't want this one! Let's swap!"

"Don't say that in front of Hina,"

Said Law jokingly, and,

"Hina? Who's that?!"

Sabo said questioningly, to which Robin couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"But anyhow, I'm surprised."

Robin leaned her cheek into her hand as she spoke,

"Didn't you use to act as Smoker all the time?"

"Oh, that,"

Ace slumped in a depressed manner,

"We were banned from doing that."

"Huh? How come?"

"They said that kids aren't supposed to smoke."

Robin paused in confusion.

"...You smoked a cigarette?"

"Yeah?"

"But Smoker doesn't smoke?"

The kids all yelled in union,

"""LIES!!!"""

And by the side, Luffy, uncaring of the ongoing situation, said,

"Makino! I want another one, shishishi!"

As Luffy spoke to Makino, Ace shouted while crossing his arms,

"His name is Smoker!"

Law shook his head,

"His Devil Fruit is literally about smoke."

Sabo, who knew about Smoker while not knowing any other, said excitedly as he pumped his fist up,

"And apparently, smoke is good for his body!"

"""Smoker's gotta be a chain-smoker!!!"""

'...Oh, boy.'

Robin could already see how Smoker would react once he learns how others think of him.

Boom!

Then, at the next moment, a doorway into the bar was kicked open, brutally.

A group of sharp-eyed bandits made their way in, to which Robin raised her eyebrow at.

The man who was supposedly their leader then yelled,

"Make way for the scourge of the mountains!!"

Everyone watched in silence as they walked... only for them to walk in the same place without advancing.

"...Eh?"

The bandits, confused about why they weren't moving forward as they walked, turned back.

And they found that the hands that popped out of wooden walls nearby, were latching onto their clothes.

"What is this?"

"Law."

Robin said, and Law nodded.

"Hey, Makino! Ughh, this thing tastes so bad!!"

"Room."

Ignoring the noise at the back, Law focused, and the transparent dome suddenly expanded out of his hand. Then,

"Shambles."

"What is this?!"

The leader of the bandit shouted in panic and raised his arm to cover his eyes.

After some time passed, he lowered his arm and peaked through. Seeing that nothing seemed to happen, he growled in embarrassment,

"Fuckards... how dare you play with me?!!"

Then, he realized—his height was a lot shorter than what was supposed to be.

"Huh?"

He looked down and found... that his body wasn't what it was supposed to be.

"HUHHH?!!!"

He raised his head and looked around.

He found the head of one of his underlings on top of his body.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING?!!!"

"Shishishi, it's my turn!"

Abruptly, Luffy shot out of his seat.

"Wait, Luffy!"

Robin quickly grabbed Luffy by the arm, and then saw,

Luffy's arm stretching like a rubber.

"Wait, this is—"

"...A Devil Fruit?"

Ace mumbled at the back,

"Since when did he eat it?"

"Uh..."

Sabo sweatdropped as he looked at the plate of food on the table in front of the seat where Luffy sat beforehand.

__________

"What? Luffy ate a Devil Fruit? And a Human Human fruit, model: Nika at that?"

Receiving the call from the Marineford was the huge man wearing a metal mask.

"Daradara... then that's how it's meant to be-dara."

This man, Bastille, chuckled,

"Yeah yeah. Have fun with those kids. Gosh, that's such a terrible mission to receive."

Hanging up the call, Bastille stretched before standing up from his seat.

Walking up to the window, Bastille gazed at the outside.

The view of Marineford was magnificent. Though there was a state at which its glory had fallen off, it was now restored, and have gone beyond, thanks to the works of Dr.Vegapunk and Tom the Shipwright.

There were roads made out of clouds that floated in the sky. Those roads were connected to a variety of floating cloud islands—ones that were formed by Smoker.

With such an expansion, the merchants, civilians, and many others moved in. After two years after their victory over Blackbeard, Marineford was now the island with the greatest population.

"Time to get to work-dara."

Muttering to himself, Bastille then grinned before breaking his way out through the window.

"AHHHH!!! ADMIRAL CHATORA!!!"

The marines who saw his exit from the outside screamed in horror.

"He's done it again!!! After Admiral Kurousagi told him that she would kill him if he were to do it again, he did it as if it was nothing!!!"

Ignoring their cries, Bastille flew through the sky as his feet kicked off the air.

"Daradaradara!"

Watching such a scene from a rooftop, Garp and Sengoku chuckled as they shared rice crackers.

"That child..."

From the side, Tsuru shook her head and sighed.

"...Huh, what was I sighing for?"

Sengoku raised an eyebrow,

"Tsuru?"

"Tsuru? Who's that? Who are you? Who am I?"

Garp laughed at that,

"Bwahahaha, Wash Wash fruit is doing things again!"

Below the rooftop, on the booming streets of Marineford, three Marine Officers were found walking.

"I swear..."

One of them was Maynard who seemed frustrated,

"One day, I'll become stronger than Bastille and become the Admiral!"

"For fuck's sake, Maynard!!!"

Another one was Rosinante, who was obviously annoyed,

"You've been saying this over a hundred times by now!!!"

And with his arms crossed, the man wearing sunglasses, Senor Pink, added,

"Not manly."

Watching the three of them from far away, two women sweatdropped.

"That Maynard,"

Spoke Doll with her hands in her pockets,

"He never changes, does he?"

"He never learns, more like,"

Said Gion as she shook her head.

"But anyhow,"

Raising her head, Gion looked at the top of the Marineford tower that stood in the middle,

"Is Smoker out still?"

"Seems like so."

"And Hina as well?"

"Yeah."

Doll nodded.

"Then, uh,"

Gion grimaced,

"Who's in charge of this place right now?"

Doll chuckled dryly,

"Aramaki."

"FUCK THIS, RAHAHAHAHA!!!!!"

Then, the roar echoed throughout the area, before a green figure shouted out of the Marineford and flew off to elsewhere.

"...And there he goes."

And hiding by the corners and eavesdropping on the conversation between Doll and Gion was Ivankov, the big-headed member of the Revolutionary Army.

"Smoker's not in Marineford, Dragon!"

<<We'll have to look for another time then. But regardless of that, why is your voice so small?>>

"Because I cannot afford to be found! I'm spying, you see!"

<<...Why? >>

"N-FUFUFUFU!!! THAT'S BECAUSE—"

And just like that, he was found.

__________

Logue Town, located on the Polestar island of the East Blue.

"Hey, pirate king! Where did you hide all the treasure you found?!"

It was the place where everything started for Smoker.

"Feeling nostalgic, aren't you?"

"I can say the same back to you."

Having a casual talk with Hina as they walked down the street, Smoker felt strange.

12 years. 12 years passed since he arrived in this world.

And this world, within 12 years of his life here, seemed more peaceful than ever.

Though there still were criminals and there were many issues to be taken care of, Smoker could confidently say, that the world... was gradually becoming a better place to live.

Smoker's dream has met its end. Because he perceived the current world as the one which he considered ideal, he felt fulfilled.

Then, what next?

"There's still a long way to go."

The end of the beginning, and the beginning of the end.

This may be the last chapter of the epic journey of Smoker in children's tales, but it was just the end of the first arc in the life of Smoker as a person.

Smoker, holding his hand out to Hina, smiled.

"What is this?"

Said Hina, but she too was smiling, as she softly placed her hand atop Smoker's.

And they walked in silence. Walking through the streets, they saw many things.

Children ran carefree, laughing jovially as they did so.

The shopkeepers advertised their products in a lively tone.

There were smiles on people's faces... and this meant that the sacrifices that were made were worthwhile. That their deaths weren't for naught.

And at last, they came to a stop, with a pleasant surprise.

"Come on, I'll get you enlisted! And from now on, call me—"

"Yo, Captain Merlin."

Smoker grinned,

"It's been a long time, hasn't it?"

The man in Marine Officer's attire turned, wide-eyed.

Captain Merlin. He was the one who brought Smoker into the ranks of Marine.

Though he's grown a few wrinkles, he looked the same as how Smoker remembered him.

And seeing Smoker and Hina, he let out a dumbfounded remark,

"...No way."

Smoker and Hina chuckled as they looked at each other.

"Got some time, captain?"

Smoker then spoke,

"I got a long story to tell, if you don't mind listening."

One Piece: White Hunter,

Fin.

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Phew, it's finally come to an end, I can't believe it!

I don't even remember when I started writing this fanfic; all I remember is that while I was stuck trying to write a new chapter of Naruto: Akatsuki, I wrote the prologue of this fanfic to vent my frustration.

You may have realized as you read the fanfic and saw my comments here and there, but this story went through a huge amount of changes as it progressed. Some ideas that I abandoned included the rivalry with Shanks (planned on introducing him during the Moria arc, but decided that Smoker needs the spotlight here), Smoke Smoke fruit being a normal one (I actually kind of regretted not doing this, 'god fruit' wasn't that tasty to me), Garp being possessed by Imu and fighting Smoker as a puppet (but found that plot leading to this would be illogical), and many more.

But alas, we've reached the end nonetheless, and I really enjoyed writing. I will probably be moving on to other fanfics to further hone my skills, and hopefully, in the future, I will be able to write an original one.

As for the next fanfic, I am currently debating whether I should continue 'Naruto: Akatsuki' or start something entirely new. Something like a non-hero mc in MHA or op mc in Demon Slayer would be nice to read, but it's undecided. As for the other One Piece fanfics... I apologize for going back on my words to continue the reboot of Struggle of the Weak, but I grew a little tired of writing One Piece fanfics, so am unsure about them at this moment.

Anyway, once again, thank you for reading this fanfic, everyone!