Chapter 69 - Negotiating with the Navy 01

[Chapter Size: 2646 Words.]

Third Person POV

Cocoyasi Village, East Blue.

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"Captain Smoker! We're approaching the island, and...!" A sailor entered the cabin, but he seemed nervous delivering this news, sweat trickling down his face.

"That's good, but what's got you so on edge, cadet?" Smoker asked, exhaling his cigar smoke coldly.

"Um... it's that the island is strange, Captain..." He said a bit hesitantly.

"Hm?! What do you mean by that?" Tashigi, who was accompanying Smoker, said beside him with a furrowed brow.

"I think it's better if you go out and see the state of the island for yourself..." He said, sounding lost.

Smoker rose from the chair in his office, and without wasting more time on questions, he left his cabin to see the island ahead.

At first, the place seemed normal, but the more Smoker paid attention, the more he could see the abnormality on that island.

"What's this? How was this done?" Tashigi couldn't believe her eyes.

"..." Even Smoker squinted.

"Remember that Marine ship stolen from Base 16? The one with a bunch of people in terrible conditions? They said they were fleeing from two monsters. I didn't believe it, but now seeing this..." One of the sailors commented on the side, with concern in his tone.

"I didn't believe it because they said they were slaves in Base 16, but now..." Another one commented.

There was devastation in a large part of the island, recently destroyed mountains, burned forests, and a large hole that started from the sea and cut almost halfway through the island like an immense trench that had been dug, but it was evident that it seemed to have been created with some kind of meteor, even the water was entering the island through this channel, and this had happened recently, as you could see the canal walls collapsing with the waves from time to time.

"I'm sure this island didn't have this landscape in the records," the naval cadet spoke beside Smoker, and Smoker could feel the tension in the air among his men.

'I'm not surprised by that statement; all of this seems to have been created recently. It's even frightening... I can't be sure what happened here, and I can't say I would have liked to have been here when it happened...' Smoker thought.

"Let's continue; we'll know our answers when we reach the island. We're hunting the pirate crew, Straw Hat, responsible for attacking Naval Base 153 stationed in Shell City and Base 16, near this island. We will bring justice to this pirate who has recently been causing chaos in East Blue!" He gave the order, and all who were hesitant raised their morale.

"Yes, for the justice of the navy!" They shouted in a joint chorus.

"But sir, Smoker, the famous bounty hunter Lami seems to be hunting the same target as us when she passed us in that small, strange, and fast boat!" A sailor suddenly raised the question, as Lami passed them in a small motorboat and accelerated in the same direction they were heading.

"Let's continue; if that bounty hunter couldn't capture the pirate, we'll get involved and finish the job," Smoker snorted, taking another puff of his cigar.

"Yes, sir!"

"I heard that woman carries a big sword. It disgusts me to see someone wield their weapon like that. If it's a high-grade sword, I'll try to take it from her!" Tashigi said beside him, but Smoker ignored her and watched the ship getting closer to the island.

"Captain! There's a Marine ship on the coast... or what's left of it..." Another sailor said with a magnifying glass, a little scared.

Smoker went to the ship's bow and looked with another magnifying glass.

"It was destroyed by cannon fire..." Smoker said, pondering which unit was here.

"I remember the remnants of the attack on Base 16 said their captain, Nezumi, was absent during the Straw Hat pirates' attack," Tashigi said beside him.

"Damn pirates, they'll pay for this." Smoker growled and continued waiting to reach the island.

"Hm?! Captain, there's a pirate ship on the other side of the coast!" Another man said, and Smoker looked at the large black warship a little farther away, but it was on a beach.

"That flag! It's them." The lieutenant said beside him, and Smoker gave the order for them to head in that direction. It didn't take long for the ship to turn and go to where the pirate boat was on another beach.

Without waiting any longer, Smoker turned into smoke and went straight to where that huge pirate ship was anchored, Lami's boat was parked next to it. He needed to see how the bounty hunter was dealing with the pirates.

Meanwhile, some time ago.

"Here, your berries. Are you sure you can't give us a discount?" Nami asked the bird.

"KYA KYA!" The bird refused, but it was afraid of the woman in front of it; she almost seemed to be threatening the animal, even though no one in the world would try to rob these messengers, even if they were the cruelest pirates and Yonkous, as that meant never receiving news from Morgan again, and no one wanted that.

"Nami! Stop threatening the poor thing and give him your money!" Nojiko appeared next to Nami and slapped her on the head, making her shrink.

"Sorry, here..." Nami said and took the newspaper.

When the bird flew away, Nami opened the newspaper with great surprise.

"LUFFY! LOOK AT THIS! THE NEWSPAPER IS TALKING ABOUT US." She immediately drew her captain's attention, who was on the beach with the others.

"Hm? Read it to me, Nami, and let everyone hear too." Luffy instructed, and the navigator began reading next to her sister.

"CHAOS IN EAST BLUE! A dark force is rising in this sea, while another hero emerges from the other side." Nami read the headline of the front page, and silence fell over the crew. The gazes focused on the news that revealed the twists in the East Blue, capturing the attention of everyone on board.

"Huh? Front page? Didn't know we'd be so important so soon! Hahahaha!" Luffy laughed and waited for Nami to continue.

"In the weaker sea, a pirate group emerged and is causing chaos, attacking everyone on the sea. They started by beating Alvida, then attacked Base 153, stealing a Marine ship and killing a commander. But this group didn't stop there; they attacked Base 16, almost destroying it entirely. This group doesn't seem to fear the navy and is openly hostile to them," Nami said, earning many surprised looks.

"Well, I can't deny I did that, but just that? I thought I had a better record..." Luffy lamented a bit.

"The pirate captain of this terrible group is called Monkey D. Luffy, known as Straw Hat of the Straw Hat Pirates for the iconic accessory he wears on top of his head and as identified by his Jolly Roger. But not all is lost; a beautiful bounty hunter has emerged in the midst of this chaos, capturing Buggy the Clown, Kuro of the 100 plans, Krieg, and has already engaged in combat against the Straw Hats, recovering the naval boat stolen by the crew. She is cleaning up the entire East Blue of the greatest pirates and outlaws. Everyone believes that soon she will bring justice and peace to this sea with the arrest of the Straw Hat," Nami concluded, and the news caused a mix of surprise and curiosity among the crew. The East Blue was becoming the stage for unexpected events, and the Straw Hats were at the center of the storm.

"Hahahahahaaha! That's hilarious, I want to see them make a publication when she's in our crew too!" Luffy laughed, quite pleased.

"I also hope they increase my bounty; I'm tired of being worth only 10 million!" He grumbled.

"I want one too!" Shirahoshi said beside.

"Sharky!" Megalo was horrified by his friend.

"Bark! Bark!" Chouchou spoke to Luffy.

"You'll have yours soon, my friend," he said.

"A bounty for me wouldn't be bad either..." Zoro commented.

"I don't want one!" Nami agreed.

"Me neither," Usopp nodded.

"..." Nojiko remained silent.

"Having a bounty would be cool, but wouldn't that old bastard know I'm out of Wano as soon as he saw my poster?" Yamato commented.

"What a contradictory group..." Hugo commented on their reactions.

"Everyone thinks that when they join..." Reiju said, smoking a cigarette.

"Nee..." Hachi was lost on the side, now that he was free while his counterparts remained tied up, but he didn't say much.

"There's also news of the tidal wave that Shirahoshi caused," Nami said.

"Are we more important than chaos created by the sea? I don't believe that. HAHAHAHA," Luffy laughed cheerfully.

"A mysterious and sudden event at sea, raising concerns among the residents of the East Blue. The circumstances and the exact cause of this occurrence have not been clarified yet, leaving the waters of the region in a state of uncertainty," Nami read, and Luffy nodded to that.

"Luffy, Lami's boat is approaching!" Kuina, who didn't participate in the interaction, looked at the sea and saw a small boat coming towards them; it was Lami and Bepo in the dinghy.

"Finally! It was about time!" Luffy said, and everyone patiently waited for their two companions to arrive at the location.

"This means the navy is coming!" Usopp said a bit scared, remembering the navy that was also heading here.

"What kind of fear is that? It's not like we haven't been pursued by them and killed many of them already; this is normal..." Zoro argued against Usopp's irrational fear.

"Kuina, it's better if you're not among us in this confrontation; you're not one of us yet." Luffy said, approaching the young swordsman.

"I know, but what are you doing?!" She said when Luffy grabbed her by the clothes and said.

"You stay on the ship, quietly." He said and tossed her onto the Black Pearl.

"AHHHHHH!!! LUFFY, YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS, YOU IDIOT CAPTAIN!" They could only hear her scream as she rose into the air and fell onto the ship.

Everyone sighed, as their captain was quite tough regardless of who was in front of him; now they awaited their companion to arrive with Bepo.

Now, in the current time.

Smoker flew over the pirate ship from above and descended like a smoke jet toward the beach, surprising most of the group.

When he landed on the beach, he found a scene that made him furrow his brow.

He found a man wearing a straw hat holding the most famous bounty hunter in this sea currently, laughing as he held her in his arms around her waist, tickling her, while she was making an unpleasant face and suddenly punching the pirate's head, the man in the straw hat didn't seem to feel her punches while laughing with her, appearing to deal with a mischievous child while laughing.

But it was clear to Smoker that they didn't seem anything like the enemies he imagined when he arrived here or was watching the fight he thought he would find.

"Hm?! You're Smoker! HAHAHAHAHAHA!" Luffy, noticing the smoke falling on the beach and seeing Smoker emerging from it, stopped messing with Lami in front of him, and he opened a smile.

Smoker narrowed his eyes at this man; he seemed to know him. It was the first time he had met Luffy, but his attention turned to the woman beside him.

"Weird, I didn't know that the bounty hunter Lami dealt with her pirates like this." He said ominously.

"Huh?! Are you implying something, huh? Do you want to die?!" She growled at the insult.

In addition to Luffy holding Lami in an embarrassing way, the entire crew was on the beach; the women looked at Luffy dissatisfiedly while the men took care of the tied-up fish-men at his side.

"Hey, don't offend my woman!" Luffy showed some dissatisfaction with that too.

"WHO IS YOUR WOMAN!?" Lami shouted, punching Luffy again.

"I mean, the medic of our pirate crew!" Luffy corrected with a smile.

"Medic?!" Smoker's face darkened with that.

"I'm a member of the Straw Hat Pirates, the ship's medic!" She said directly to the marine captain; there was no more reason to hide this fact now, so she would now be sailing with them as an official member.

"So, in the end, you were just a pirate turning in other pirates to collect rewards..." Smoker said calmly, but the smoke began to circulate his body, showing fierceness in front of the pirate crew.

"That's a Logia..." Lami said a bit surprised.

"It's true, almost no one here knows how to use Haki, but luckily, we have an ideal person for that." Luffy smiled as he said this quietly to Lami and turned to the girls.

"Yamato, can you take him down?" He asked, and Yamato, despite appearing quite dissatisfied with Luffy's attitude towards Lami, took the first steps.

"Hm, maybe I'll do that." She mocked.

Smoker looked at the approaching woman as he drew his Nanashaku Jitte from his back, ready to fight her before dealing with the rest of them. He was confident he could take them all down.

In the next instant, Yamato advanced with surprising agility before Smoker could react. In the blink of an eye, a loud boom echoed across the beach. Yamato reappeared, her Haki-coated fist hitting the back of Smoker's neck with overwhelming force. The Marine officer fell, knocked out, unable to resist Yamato's formidable strength.

Everyone looked at this scene with stunned eyes.

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Silence took over the beach, seeing the tough Marine, who had arrived in style and ready to fight everyone, knocked out so easily in less than a second.

Megalo, Shirahoshi, Bepo, Nami, and Usopp, who had been fearing the Marine, were stunned by the turn of events.

"So weak..." Yamato murmured.

"Hahahahahaha, he's weak now because he relies too much on Logia. Even without knowing Haki, I could deal with him with some difficulty, but I hope that in the future, he'll become strong enough to be a worthy opponent!" Luffy laughed and commented, hoping that Smoker would be powerful in the future. This guy didn't become the Marine who followed Luffy for any reason; just like Roger had Garp on his tail, Luffy had Smoker.

"Hm?! Do you want this Marine to be strong?" Lami asked beside, not understanding.

"Of course, I expect great challenges at sea as we sail. The journey is always more interesting that way." Luffy declared and looked at the ship and a girl who was spying from there.

"Kuina! Can you get some Sea Stone handcuffs from the ship's storage?" He shouted to the girl on the ship, and she nodded and ran to the storage.

Jhoony and Yosaku were no longer present; they stayed in the village. Luffy gave them a proposal, and they accepted.

As soon as Kuina threw the handcuffs from the ship, Usopp and Zoro tied up an unconscious Smoker.

"Now let's take a photo with Smoker. Grandpa will want to kill me after this, as I attacked three different captains and base commanders in the East Blue, but it'll be fun to see his face!" Luffy laughed, and they ended up putting Kuina in the photo with them from the top of the ship, one that featured the crew with a Marine captain and some fish-men, striking a pose after being convinced by Luffy.

"Hahahaha! Let's wait for the Marine ship to arrive. It's right there!" Luffy announced, and everyone waited calmly for the ship heading towards the beach, a few hundred meters away, heading their way.

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