Reunion

Tony Tony Chopper was unsure of himself; on one hand, everyone was being really nice and supportive to their new friend/crewmate but on the other: he was far from prepared for the chaotic scenes that came about from Zoro and Sanji's constant fighting, Morgan's insistence on training even though a normal person would be recovering after his extensive treatment and fight against Wapol. The only thing that didn't seem to worry him all that much were Nami and Vivi checking in on him. 

"So how do you like being here so far, Chopper?" Nami asked as she brought him a tangerine tartlet that Sanji prepared for her and Vivi; "I know what it's like to leave your home for the first time so don't feel like you have to sit in silence." She assured him as she sat at one of the empty chairs.

"It is a little scary…This is the first time I've been so far away from home…But at the same time; It feels like I've got something new to look forward to." Chopper explained as he had a small smile on his face as he looked at the good over the bad.

——Meanwhile——

"Morgan, are you sure about doing this? I already dropped the bad feelings toward you." Sanji asked as he stretched out his legs.

"Of course I'm sure…But I still wanna make sure we work through this, we are still friends after all." Morgan got into a stance like Sanji did as they began to spar with each other on the deck; trading between kicks from each other and differing blows.

Zoro watched the two as he paused his own training to spectate; finally relieved that Morgan was back to his old self and Sanji had stopped his complaining about Morgan's supposedly ignorant behaviour, the culmination of the two's mending feelings meant he could sleep in peace at night.

It may have seemed more then a little quick for Sanji to have forgiven Morgan but he ultimately realised that even if he was somehow able to convince his captain to back down from pursuing Nami or Vivi if she was so inclined…That wouldn't be a sure thing that either of them would accept him or worse yet; if they found out he was the primary reason that Morgan backed out on them then that'd just make things worse.

"Hey..About before…" Morgan started once they finished their sparring but was cut off by the sound of a match being struck.

"Look, I don't wanna hear it…Whether I like it or not, Nami sincerely cares for you…In an ideal world; I'd be the one to be her knight in shining armour but life's not always that kind." Sanji started explaining as he took a drag; "Despite what I said back at the castle, I know you're a better man than to go playing with a woman's heart…If she's happy with you than that's good enough for me." Sanji decided to concede as he puffed out some smoke. "Though I still stand by kicking your ass if you do anything to hurt her, intentionally or not."

Morgan chuckled as he sipped his water; "Fair enough…I can promise you that I care too much about Nami to want to deliberately do something like that."

"Speaking of…"

Nami came out on deck as she looked to the group outside; "Come on you three! Alabasta's not that far away so you may want to get ready, orders from Vivi~" She would remark with a grin; "And Morgan, you mind co-Oh no…Everyone inside, NOW!" Nami yelled out as she could see storm clouds brewing and the waves getting choppy.

Time ticked by as it had gotten really dark and stormy very quickly, confining everyone inside for the time being; "I still can't get over how fast the weather changes out here." Morgan mentioned as he peered out of the window to the howling gale and the thundering sky.

"That was part of the reason why I thought Nami got sick…" Vivi mentioned; "But since the snowfall turned to rain recently; I can tell we're getting close to Alabasta." She would mention as her face showed off a mix of happiness to return to her homeland but also worry as things in Alabasta weren't exactly getting better since she left.

"Vivi, I can promise you that we'll get you home without a hitch." Nami reassured her and lightly pat her back with a smile, getting a returned but smaller smile from the desert princess.

"Not just for the reward money?" Zoro chided Nami with a small smirk as he drank down another mug.

Nami huffed as she was less intrigued in the reward money now since she had started getting closer with Vivi; "No, we promised to get Vivi home so we're gonna do it!"

With a small amount of tension ceased when Sanji brought out some food, the sunlight started to peek through the windows after a good few minutes; "We should probably get to fishing; if we're still some time away from Alabasta then we may need to get dinner for tonight." The cook suggested as Morgan and Usopp decided to volunteer.

——A couple hours of uncaught fish later—

Usopp was looking downtrodden while Morgan kept his focus on the fish; "You think we'll catch anything out here?"

"It's an ocean Usopp, we're gonna catch something at the very least…who knows, maybe we'll get lucky and catch a giant marlin?" Morgan mentioned casually as he kept his eye on the rod and not on the ocean.

"Morgan?" Chopper asked as they noticed something peculiar that plenty of the others had picked up on but rarely addressed to him; "You've opted to become a pirate captain yet when it comes to the ocean, you hardly even keep your eye on it."

"Well..Now that you mention it…" Usopp added; "Zoro said that you were uncomfortable about it…It's just water, isn't it?"

Morgan shifted in his seat as he felt the focus on him; "It's not water itself, it's what's IN the water that's the problem." He would elaborate; "When I was a kid…I watched my brother drown and almost got eaten by a Sea King, thankfully Shanks was there to save him but it left me…scared, worried that when I peer into that deep dark abyss. Something is staring back up at me…and sometimes it's not friendly, part of it is the reason why I don't want a Devil Fruit, if it robs your ability to swim and makes you sink like a rock…That makes it a literal hell for someone like me…"

Usopp shivered a little at Morgan's explanation; "I..I get it, but then why take a dream of being a Pirate King who's life is ON the ocean when it scares you like that?" 

"Because I made a promise to two people that I would…The first was to become the first Martial Artist to become the Pirate King, the other was to become a pirate capable enough of kicking the Marine's ass." Morgan said with a slightly more at ease smile but then felt something tug on his rod and began to pull; "I got something!"

"What is it? A Tuna?!"

"Maybe he caught a shark!"

"Oh, I hope it's a mermaid~!"

With an almighty heave from Morgan and with Usopp, Chopper and Sanji to help pull him back, they yanked what they caught up to the surface and a collective "Huh?" rang out as what they saw was not what any of them were expecting.

After getting them off of the fishing line; the trio got a better look at what they would soon be introduced as Bon Clay, a flamboyant but amiable person who managed to quickly strike up a friendship with not just Usopp and Chopper but also with Morgan and the others. It was only after they found out that their new friend was in fact Mr. 2 that things became a problem.

"This is bad…This is really, REALLY bad!"

"Yes, Usopp…We are well aware."

"We need a plan, you all saw his powers and we can't afford to go in without any kind of preparation." Nami would mention as she looked to the others and then to Vivi.

"They said their power was called the Mane-Mane no Mi…If they can copy someone down to the voice…Then we need to include something that can distinguish us in case we're separated." Morgan suggested as he tried to find something that they could use.

Sanji thought on it before looking to his arm; "What about a marking? We can use something like paint or a pen to distinguish the others."

Chopper nodded; "But they can copy someone's body, remember? They can easily copy things like scars and tattoos for all we know." They pointed out and tapped their hooves together while trying to help things move along.

Zoro nodded and decided to throw in his input as well; "And considering they're the Number 2 of the Baroque Works hierarchy means that we shouldn't take them lightly for any reason." He then peered out the window; "Mr. 5 and Miss Valentines Day was no pushover…And Mr 3 was even worse."

Morgan took their info in and then smirked as he came up with a new idea; "Okay, how about this…We bandage it up? Take a mark like so…" He explained and drew an X on his wrist for an example and then grabbed a napkin before placing it on top; "We wrap our marked arm like this so that even if Mr. 2 was to copy one of us, he'd only copy the bandage right?" He would elaborate as he watched the others consider it as both Nami and Sanji had the same thought once they heard it.

"I'm not sure if it's the shock of dealing with a BW higher up but I think that could actually work." Sanji agreed as he then grabbed a pen and Chopper went to get some bandages.

Nami then decided to grab Morgan and take him somewhere private; "Excuse us."

After some weird looks from the others bar Vivi and Sanji; Nami led Morgan into her room and locked the door; "I'm just gonna be honest and say this might be riskier then we think it could get." She explained with a rather serious look on her face.

"Of course it's going to be dangerous; With what Vivi said and with what we've managed to uncover, we could be diving into the thick of it." Morgan admitted; "Besides, it's not like we're going in unarmed or anything. We've dealt with people bigger than us plenty of times; Buggy, Arlong…The Marines…Plus we've pushed back Baroque Works a few times, it's not gonna be too much of a problem if we have to keep going against them." 

Nami sighed as she then gave him a light smack on the chest; "This isn't something to joke about! The only reason we were able to get one over on them was because we took them by surprise twice, the first time because you and Zoro kicked them around while you were plastered, the second was when Usopp managed to blow up that giant candle thing that Mr. 3 made." Nami snapped at him to get him to focus; she of all people realised that it was both Morgan's stubbornness and the fact that they win by the skin of their teeth that got her worried things would get worse.

"Come on, it's not like I don't take this seriously…Besides, Usopp gave you that new Clima-Tact, Zoro's got his three swords and I can easily knock a tree down with a kick…plus we have a doctor now so I know we can at least handle ourselves better." Morgan tried to reiterate and prove that they could do this.

Nami smiled a little when she heard he had faith in her just as much but that didn't change her mind; "Look, from what Vivi said; Baroque Works has their hooks in and we don't know how deep it gets…If they have the kingdom as their main base; we could be dealing with their boss…The Warlord with a bounty twice as big as yours along with the possibility of the Marines showing up." Nami took a seat on her bed and reached under it to grab the lockbox; "If we look at it honestly, I don't think that any amount of willpower and muscle can handle either or both alone."

Morgan felt his body slacken a little as he realised this; "Okay…So then what do you suggest we do?"

She would open up the box and showed off that same Devil Fruit she confided to him about after beginning their trip to Whiskey Peak; "I suggest you eat this."

——A couple of hours later——

The group had split off as part of a plan: Sanji and Usopp went to go get their water supplies and food for the trip into the desert, Zoro and Chopper went to go find medical supplies: It was originally just going to be Chopper but Morgan and Vivi insisted that Zoro go too since Chopper couldn't carry all the supplies by himself and also because a reindeer in the deser was not a good mix.

Elsewhere there were other forces starting to mobilise while keeping an eye on the scattering newcomers in Alabasta.


"Are you sure that's him?"

"Are you blind? He's got the straw hat and the scar on his face and neck!"

"Quiet, the two of you! Smoker told us to keep an eye on things regarding Baroque Works and this Civil War thing…but he did mention about keeping an eye on Straw Hat since he heard about that intel."

"That's not the only part…One of the ensigns who came along has talked about looking for him…Glory and a promotion maybe?"

The group of Marines would talk as they kept patrolling around the area while Morgan dipped into a restaurant to get some food for himself.

"Welcome, what can I get for ya?" The cook asked as he saw Morgan take a seat at an out of the way table.

As Morgan made his orders and began to chow down, another figure made their way into the restaurant; clad in a Marine uniform however this was the only thing that linked them as their uniform was sleeveless and the kanji for "Justice" was emblazoned on the back of their jacket. "Man, I am starving! Hey mister, can I get several cuts of meat cooked up?" The Marine asked excitedly as he adjusted the cap on his head.

"Oh, I'm sorry sir but we're actually all out, I can direct you to ano-" 

The sound of munching could be heard as Morgan was filling up the tank but the Marine had already snuck a hand over to grab one large piece of meat however the Marine quickly learned one lesson that Sanji and Usopp accidentally learned when it comes to eating with Morgan: You don't take food when it's directly on Morgan's plate, especially when he's still eating otherwise you end up with a bite mark on your hand.

With a loud yelp of pain and a separate yell of disgust; the meat slipped out of Morgan's mouth and the Marine's hand shrank back on his stretched out arm springing back to the Marine like an almost familiar sight. "The hell do you think you're playing at you…jerk?"

The marine shook his hand as he finally came face to face with Morgan; The marine had black hair and dark eyes but with a stitched up scar under his left eye and a similar wide grin. "Shi Shi Shi! It's been a long time, Moggy."

Even though the Marine's tone was jovial, the tension that surrounded the two was palpable, "You've spent 10 years in the Marines and you still haven't grown out of trying to get food from other people's plates?" Morgan snarked as he moved the piece of meat away from The Marine.

"You got all the food here, how come you can't share?" The Marine whined in an almost childlike fashion. 

"I grew up around you, Luffy! If you don't each as much as you can, as fast as you can then you don't eat at all!" Morgan retorted back to his adopted brother. "Besides; I need the food more than you do because surprise surprise! Not everyone in the world has a rubber stomach like you!"

"You still bit me!" Luffy grumbled as he reached for the meat again but Morgan grabbed it by the bone and pulled it away; "I haven't eaten in 2 hours, I'm starving!"

"I still need to cross the desert, you ass! Go steal someone else's food!" Morgan snapped back as he did make a good point.

"Hey! HEY! This is a restaurant, you two so calm it down or take it ou-"

"GOMU-GOMU NO!"

"-tside?"

"BAZOOKA!" Luffy stretched his arms back and shot them forward to both smack out Morgan and snatch the meat.

Morgan had different ideas as he held the meat in his teeth by the bone and thrust his own hands outward; "Strong Style Kenpo! Gomu Gomu Reversal!" He yelled out and used his Haki infused hands to grab Luffy's outstretched wrists and began to pull him towards him.

"Wahk!" Luffy then zipped towards Morgan with speed before getting thrown out through a wall into the street.

"Give up on my food, Luffy! I'm not gonna give you my food just because you're my slightly older bro." Morgan persisted as he took the meat out of his mouth.

"As an Ensign of the Marines and on the authority of Grandpa, gimme that meat!" Luffy yelled out as he stomped his foot.

The adoptive brothers stared the other down; there were plenty of times that the two fought as kids, sometimes Luffy won…Or sometimes Morgan won…Or a draw when others around them called the both of them idiots. 

This time however: Morgan had his meal interrupted and being repeatedly pestered about sharing made this not just a matter of Marine rebellion but something personal.

"Ensign, What are y-Straw Hat Morgan!?"

"Stay back, this one's mine…You and the others stay out of this." Luffy grimaced since food was on the line now with an equally intense stare towards Morgan.

Morgan let his smug smirk grow as he lifted the remaining meat up and then slipped it into his mouth with a solid CRUNCH before he took the now clean bone out and tossed it to the floor in front of Luffy. "Oh, look at that…No more." He remarked with a gleeful joy as he ate the meat out of what he would later admit as spite in front of the Marines, the crowd of people and in front of the gluttonous Luffy.

The Marines that had been tagging along with their Ensign knew that accidentally taking his food or eating it was tantamount to an ass kicking; but with such a deliberate and blatant act of taunting tied in with the fact that their superiors weren't around to stop him, The soldiers ducked for cover.

"YOU BASTARD!" Luffy yelled out as he rushed forward with one arm twisted up like a corkscrew and a face full of hunger and rage. "GOMU-GOMU NO!" Luffy yelled out and jumped forward with his stretched out arm ready to drive Morgan into the dirt…or rather sand. "RIFLE!"

Morgan recognised this move a lot during training so he moved toward Luffy; capitalising on the Rubber Man's predictability, imbuing his fist with weak Haki and pushed his palm upward to redirect the twisting fist. Once he saw the attack get redirected and start to return to normal: He grabbed Luffy's wrist and gave an almighty heave as he Judo threw Luffy behind him, straight into the back of another Marine who in turn crashed into the restaurant across the street.

"Oh, this doesn't look good." Morgan thought as he watched a very familiar head of white hair climb out of the wreck; "Really not good…"

"Damn it all Ensign! I thought I told you to keep it calm when y-YOU…." Smoker started to reprimand Luffy but quickly changed his focus and tone at the moment he saw Morgan in front of him.

"So, what brings Loguetown's watchdog all the way out here?" Morgan asked as he crossed his arms; still feeling sore about his loss against the Logia user.

"Under any other circumstances, I'd say it's none of your damn business…But here we are." Smoker gruffly responded as he exhaled smoke; "I'm sure even you know about the civil war going on around here so I won't bore you with the details, but Baroque Works is operating around here and we have some reason to believe you and your crew might be involved."

Morgan raised an eyebrow; "Involved how exactly? Because I'm a pirate and as far as I know, Baroque Works are bounty hunters." Morgan pointed out as the group of Marines were trying to hold Luffy back.

"I know…You may be a Pirate but I don't think you'd stoop that low for glory and popularity." Smoker mentioned but reached over his shoulder to grab his jitte; "But a pirate is still a pirate, so I gotta take you in…Once you're detained, we'll take you to headquarters for further deliberation."

"Wai-What?" Morgan asked as he was fully confused; "I thought I'd just get thrown in jail."

"Grandpa still wants you to join the Marines so if you come peacefully, you won't be punished." Luffy elaborated since he was still excited at the prospect of potentially getting his little brother to sign up.

"That cantankerous old fart?! Alright, listen here Luffy and Ass-Gas!" Morgan growled, though hearing Morgan's nickname for Smoker made Luffy burst out laughing and the other Marines look both mortified and trying to not laugh either. "I don't care if you're an Ensign, a Commodore or even an Admiral…You can sooner kiss my ass before I consider joining up with you!" Morgan yelled out and smirked when he saw Smoker trembling in anger.

"That's how you wanna play it, you lil shit?! Then let's play…Just remember, there's no Dragon to save you this time!" Smoker snarled as he swung his jitte outwards.

——Weeks ago, Back in Loguetown——

"Zoro, Sanji…You two go on ahead, I'll catch up." Morgan mentioned as he cracked his knuckles while Smoker climbed off his Billower Bike.

"Straw Hat Morgan, you might've escaped that unsanctioned execution in the plaza but one of the higher ups is wanting you brought in as a priority of alive over dead!" Smoker remarked as he pointed his weapon at Morgan who was watching him carefully. "From what those people at headquarters said; This guy took on a Fishman barehanded…I should handle this quickly but I can't afford to take him lightly."

Morgan huffed as he then got into a stance; Since he had been in non-stop fights since the execution stand on top of using Haki to get a handle on keeping Alvida and Buggy at a distance, his reserves of stamina were running low and he wasn't sure what Smoker had up his sleeves. "Glad to know I'm so popular." He snarked as he rushed towards Smoker with Haki imbued fist and landed a solid strike on the Marine's midriff.

With an almost caught by surprised grunt, Smoker staggered back and gripped his stomach; "That one actually hurt…Haki, I'm guessing?" He asked Morgan as he kept a distance.

"Heh, gotta use what I can, so good luck getting an easy win out of…Me?" he trailed off when he saw Smoker start to emanate….smoke.

"White Blow!" Smoker yelled out as he shot a smoke bullet shaped like a fist out towards Morgan, he then followed up by rushing in and thrusting his Jitte forward to strike through the cloud and hit Morgan dead on.

Morgan winced as he watched Smoker use that quick change up; "Of course…Devil Fruit?" He asked with a wry smirk, knowing the answer already but knowing that 9 times out of 10, Users like to brag.

"There's a reason why I'm called the White Hound and guard the border between here and the Grand Line, I ate the Moku-Moku no Mi so to make it simple; With how out of breath you are…Good luck trying to punch smoke!" Smoker elaborated before launching a volley of Smoke laden fists and watched Morgan duck and avoid most of them.

"Strong Style Kenpo! Cannon Spike!" he would yell out and sent a kick flying upward towards Smoker's head; however that seemed to miss as Smoker began to disperse while airborne.

"What did I just say?" Smoker grumbled as he rushed in with a raised arm; "White Snake!" The Marine yelled out as his now slowly stretching out arm began chasing Morgan.

"This guy is just full of surprises…I have to get creative since my Haki's running low…" Morgan mused to himself as he reached into his bag and jumped into the air to avoid the tendril of smoke. 

"Gotcha…WHITE OUT!" Smoker then used his other hand to shoot forward while his prey took to the air and successfully caught him before using both arms to slam him against the wall and then back into the ground.

Morgan yelled out in pain as he was unceremoniously thrown to the ground; "So this is a Marine Officer…Gotta admit, he is pretty tough…Just means that I gotta work smart with this.." He thought as he heard Smoker's footsteps getting closer.

"You know, I heard all about you…Picking off several big named Pirates and coming out on top, earning yourself a big bounty on top of that for being without Fruit Powers…This is all you got?" Smoker asked as he gazed down at Morgan who continued to struggle but then felt something off.

"Far…From it…" Morgan snapped back through grit teeth as he thrust a fist forward and struck Smoker square in the face with a now gauntlet clad fist.

Feeling his head snap backwards from the sudden and very hard impact; Smoker ended up letting him go, or rather something compelled him to. "I thought he was out of Haki…Though he wasn't wearing that gauntlet before…Clever…" He would wipe the blood from his nose and smirked; "Seastone in those gauntlets, having that is rare outside of a Marine environment."

Morgan smirked back as he got into a stance; "If there's one thing that being a Pirate taught me, is to be prepared for anything." He admitted as he rushed forward to deliver some quick and fast strikes to Smoker, even with the Devil Fruit nullified; Smoker was still a well trained Marine as he used the Jitte to knock away his punches. 

Morgan kept pressing on even though the strain of constant fighting was starting to catch up on him. Palm strikes and hooks were thrown in the mix as a fair number managed to land.

Smoker however still had the advantage of his own stamina plus the fact that unless the Seastone Gauntlets were touching him, his powers could still work. "WHITE LAUNCHER!" He yelled out as he propelled himself forward as smoke and barrels into Morgan; with the smoke grasping his arms, Smoker kept him pinned with a satisfied huff. "Good, you're not just a random Pirate running ass first into danger…I'm almost impressed, but it's not enough t-"

Smoker's rant was cut short when Morgan roared out and a wave of Armament Haki flowed through him and then pushed him off. "What in the…"

"I'm done wasting time around you!" Morgan yelled out as he rushed forward and grabbed Smoker around the waist, rotating himself behind the Marine and lifted him backwards to land a German Suplex on Smoker. "ATOMIC!"

Smoker grunted out in pain as he was forced back into a physical body and driven backwards into the stone ground.

Morgan then lifted Smoker over his head and then performed a reverse backbreaker on him. "BODY!"

"He's really packing a hit…Second Wind or his last struggle before he topples over?" Smoker tried to rationalise before he started to try pulling himself out with his powers.

Morgan knew that he only had a minute amount of energy left to deal damage so he wanted to take as much of Smoker down as he could, so he tossed the Marine up in the air with a powerful swing. "Now or never…I can't afford to give this guy a moment to breathe!" The Straw hat grit his teeth and did his best to keep his layer of Haki going before jumping up in the air; He then grabbed Smoker in midair and finish them with a devastating Spinning Piledriver. "BUSTER!" He would yell out his final move as he twisted both himself and Smoker into the ground.

Smoker yelled out in pain as the combo of being nullified by Haki and getting driven into the ground hit him hard. With an unsteady climb to his feet; he had the satisfaction in seeing that Morgan was just about ready to keel over. "You're certainly living up to that Bounty that you earned…That's why I'm gonna beat you into a blackout and drag you to He-" He threatened as he reached out to Morgan; however a crash of thunder and the rain picked up, with the latest flash of lightning illuminated a silhouette. Standing over them was a large man in a big green coat with tattoos. "Dragon…" Smoker would growl out as he saw that familiar figure.

"Sorry to interrupt your fun, Smoker…But I think it's too soon to let this young man fall short." Dragon remarked as he smirked; A sudden bout of typhoon level winds rocked through the town, the houses shuddered in it's wake and trees were uprooted while their opponent was easily blown apart in the wind. 

"You have a crew to get back to, Morgan D. Ford…A pirate's ship needs it's captain after all." Dragon said cryptically as he watched the Straw Hat climb to his feet.

"Who…Are you exactly?" Morgan asked as he struggled to put a name to a face; "I don't think we ever met but thank you for helping me."

Dragon chuckled as he kept walking past Morgan back into the heavy rains; "Let's just say that you did someone I know a favour…So now consider that debt repaid." He mentioned before giving Morgan a warning; "But just be wary; the Marines carry a great deal of strength with them, Smoker may not be the strongest but he is a good measuring stick for what you should expect in the Grand Line."

——In the present day——

Morgan and Smoker looked like they were ready to square off and finish what they started in Loguetown but before the first move could be made, someone else climbed out of the wreck.

"Man…If you're gonna pick a fight then choose somewhere else t-Luffy? Moggy? What're yo-" A lean man with an orange hat dusted himself off; showing a tattoo that spelled his name wrong and a knife strapped to his belt

"YOU'RE MINE NOW, STRAW HAT!" Smoker yells out as he sprang into attack Morgan while utilising his smoky lower half as a rocket.

"No you don't, HIKEN!" Ace yelled out as he shot a fireball out and cancelled out Smoker's assault; earning a look of amazement from both Luffy and Morgan. "Questions for later, We gotta move it!" Ace yelled out as he created a wall of fire between the Marines and the two.

"Ace! You ate a fruit too?!" Morgan asked as they sprinted across the sand and into the back streets.

"Look. I know how you feel about Devil Fruits so I'm not going to brag a-" Ace started to explain; he knew that Morgan had his stance on Devil Fruits even as a kid but he wasn't expected to see Morgan practically glowing with pride at his older brother.

"Are you kidding me?! The fact you can shoot fire is awesome to look at!" Morgan smirked as he was awestruck at what he watched Ace doing during the showdown against Smoker and Luffy.

——Back at the Marines' Temporary Base——

"Damn it! We lost track of both of them!" Smoker growled as he kicked over one of the chairs as he realised the gravity of what slipped away.

"I took some of the Marines to go look in the immediate area for them but we can't both look for them and keep an eye on Mr 11…" Luffy mentioned as he felt like he missed his chance.

"Smoker! It's bad…While we were conducting a search for Fire-Fist Ace and Straw Hat Morgan, someone managed to take out Mr. 11!" Tashigi said with heavy breath as she ran all the way from the dock to find them.

"But the only people who know about Mr 11 are us….Could the Straw Hat's crew have done it to shut him up of their involvement?" Smoker mused as he sat at his desk.

"No way! Moggy may be a jerk and a food thief but he's no killer!" Luffy protested as he crossed his arms, earning a look of exasperation from Tashigi and a raised eyebrow from Smoker.

"Oh? And what makes you think that?" Smoker asked Luffy as he offered a seat before throwing Tashigi a bottle of water.

"I grew up with Moggy and Ace…Sure he'd be likely to beat someone up but I don't think he'd ever go as far as to kill someone." Luffy mentioned with an honest look on his face.

"You've been an enlisted Marine for years, things can change." Tashigi pointed out; "That still doesn't change the fact that you ignored orders from a superior officer to go look for food AND caused a scene in the middle of the square!" 

"Enough, the both of you! We'll need to contact the Vice Admiral, if Morgan D. Ford teams up with one of the Division Commanders of the Whitebeard Pirates…It could end badly…."