Chapter 26 - Loguetown (1)

"Ahahaha! O-Oh god! Ronan. Y-You have motion sickness? Bro, how do you plan on surviving on the sea? Hahaha." Raiden couldn't help but burst into laughter as he watched Ronan, pale and shaky, leaning over the ship's railing.

"Dammit, Raiden! You idiot! Never do that again!" Ronan spat, his voice hoarse from the effort of vomiting. He glared at his friend, fists clenched in frustration.

"Aw, come on, Ronan. It wasn't that bad," Raiden said with a grin, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes. "Besides, you've got to toughen up if you're gonna be my partner."

"You think this is funny?" Ronan retorted, still clutching his stomach. "You made the whole trip a nightmare on purpose!"

Raiden shrugged nonchalantly, still giggling.

The ship swayed gently as they continued their journey towards Lougetown. Raiden's antics had indeed made the voyage more eventful than necessary. Every so often, he'd transform into his massive thunderbird form, his wings beating against the wind as he pulled the ship forward with astonishing speed. The sheer speed of his transformation cut their travel time significantly.

Unfortunately, our friendly fishman didn't seem to have appreciated that. Heck, even the normal sea voyage was not something he enjoyed all that much, let alone the shenanigans Raiden pulled.

"You're an evil bastard, Raiden." Ronan glared at Raiden, making the said boy laugh even more.

"Bah, stop overreacting. Look at that." Raiden waved the insult off and pointed at a distant landmass. He looked at the scowling fishman and chortled with a satisfied smirk on his face. "See, I told you we'd get here quicker."

Ronan shot him a weary glance. "Yeah, quicker and sicker."

Raiden chuckled, patting his friend's shoulder. "You'll survive. Now cheer up. Let's go complete the recruitment, and then we can go explore this place. I want  to see where that man was executed."

Ronan rolled his eyes, his scowl still present. "Fine, but next time, try not to make me hurl, alright?"

"No promises." Raiden patted the fishman on his back, quietly chuckling as he made his way to the front of the deck.

Raiden's laughter subsided as he looked back at the distant silhouette of Loguetown on the horizon. His eyes gleamed with excitement. "Alright, Ronan, time to get your disguise up again."

Ronan grumbled, muttering curses under his breath as he trudged back inside the cabin to don his disguise. Raiden remained on deck, his gaze fixed on the rapidly approaching island.

Loguetownwas a special place. This was where the pirate king, Gol D Roger was born and executed. And this was the place where the new age started.

'The last island before the grandline. Man, I wish I could just sail past the reverse mountain.' Raiden thought with a sigh. No matter what he wanted, he knew that the time was not right to do any of that.

Ronan soon reemerged, now disguised in his emo dress. "Stop grinning like a psychopath, Raiden," he remarked, adjusting his cloak.

Raiden ignored the jab, still focused on the island. "Prepare for landing," he instructed, his voice brimming with anticipation.

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Loguetownwas a bustling city, with a significantly larger population and more marine influence. As soon as the boys landed on the port and disembarked, they were met with a chorus of merchants shouting about their wares, sailors scurrying about to unload cargo, and locals moving through the cobblestone streets.

Unlike the Shells Town, this place had a sense of security. And that was largely because of the massive marine presence on the island.

As soon as they landed on the dock, they were approached by a marine Petty Officer with a frown etched on his weathered face.

"What are you two doing on this island?" the officer asked sternly, eyeing their young faces with suspicion. Two young boys, on a ship and armed with weapons, he had, unfortunately seen a lot of them on this island.

'God, they look so young. I need to make sure they are not up to anything nefarious.' To him, the boys looked like they were kids and if they had any notions of becoming pirates, he wanted to get them back on the right track before it's too late.

Raiden quickly realised why he was looking at them with scrutiny. In this day and age, anyone with a ship and crew, even if it was just two people, were looked at with suspicion of being pirates. Well, it was not like Raiden blamed them either. If things were a bit different, he would be a pirate himself.

"Sir, I'm here to enroll as a Marine cadet, and Ronan here is just accompanying me," he said with a confident smile.

The officer sighed and muttered under his breath, "Refreshing to see kids wanting to be Marines these days." He nodded and gestured for them to follow. "Name's Petty Officer Jumble. Come with me, I'll take you guys to the Marine base."

Jumble motioned for the duo to follow him and began moving. The boys ran up to the middle aged man and began walking next to him. As they walked, Raiden's curiosity got the better of him. "Who's the head of the branch here, sir?"

Jumble looked back at him. "That would be Captain Smoker."

"Captain Smoker?He's already in Lougetown?" Raiden exclaimed, eyes wide with excitement. (I don't exactly remember when Smoker was transferred to Lougetown, so just go along with it.)

Jumble raised an eyebrow, impressed. "You know about Captain Smoker, eh? I see you're passionate about joining the Marines. Did your research, did you?" His tone softened and he almost sounded proud.

"Captain Smoker has done wonders for Lougetown. This place was a pirate hotspot, being the last island before the Grand Line. When Smoker came, he wiped out a lot of crime and pirates from here. The man is relentless. No pirate can escape him."

Ronan looked puzzled. "Ho? He must be pretty strong, eh?"

Jumble grinned. "He's invincible. Well, that's because he has Devil Fruit powers. And a logia one at that." He leaned in, expecting a shocked reaction. "Do you boys know what Devil Fruits are?"

Raiden coughed and responded, "Yes, sir. We know what Devil Fruits are."

"What? You guys know what devil fruits are?!"

"Yup."

"Sure do."

Jumble blinked in surprise, not expecting them to be so knowledgeable. Devil fruits were not as commonly known, especially in the East Blue, so it came as a surprise to Jumble.

"Oh, well, good." He coughed in embarrassment and hastened his pace. "Follow me without any more delays."

Raiden and Ronan exchanged amused glances and chuckled quietly. Jumble, hearing them, turned and yelled, his voice tinged with embarrassment, "Hurry up, you two!"

Suppressing their laughter, Raiden and Ronan quickened their steps. They wanted to finish their business here quickly and then go back to Shimotsuki Village to continue their training. They didn't have time for shenanigans.

_____

The Marine base in Loguetownstood as an imposing structure at the center of the city, its tall, sturdy walls and watchtowers looming over the bustling streets below. The Marine emblem was emblazoned on its front, a symbol of order and authority. Uniformed Marines moved briskly in and out, each focused on their duties.

"Stop staring at the building and get inside," Petty Officer Jumble barked at Raiden and Ronan. "And remember, be respectful and don't say anything stupid to Captain Smoker. He has a short fuse."

The two boys nodded and followed Jumble through the base's corridors, filled with the sounds of disciplined marching and the occasional bark of commands. Finally, they reached a door at the end of a hallway.

"This is Captain Smoker's office," Jumble said, stopping in front of the door. "Good luck." With that, he left them.

Raiden took a deep breath and knocked on the door. A gruff voice from inside responded, "Come in."

Raiden pushed the door open and stepped inside with Ronan following him, as he entered the room and closed it behind. The room was filled with the smell of cigars, and behind the desk sat a man with a stern expression, billows of smoke swirling around him.

Raiden grinned widely as he saw the familiar figure in front of him. It took him a moment to recognise him, considering the difference in the anime and real life was quite a bit, but that confusion only lasted a moment.

The man in front of him was a seven foot tall man with a tuft of white spiky hair and a comically large number of cigarettes adoring his marine coat. The only major difference Raiden could make out, was the fact that this smoker looked significantly younger than the one in the anime.

'Well, that is pretty obvious. It was more than a decade before Luffy would come to this place.' Raiden mentally nodded.

"Stop staring at me. It's creepy." Smoker's eyes narrowed as he looked Raiden up and down, sizing up the boy before him. His voice was gruff and dismissive. "What do you want, kid?"

Raiden stood tall, meeting Smoker's gaze. "Sir, I'm here on Vice Admiral Garp's recommendation. I've come to enroll as a Marine cadet."

Smoker's eyes widened slightly at that. It was not everyday that someone of Garp's calibre recommended anyone. "Vice Admiral Garp, huh? That old man. Always making things complicated for everyone." He muttered under his breath, clearly annoyed. "What exactly did Garp say?"

Raiden took a deep breath. "Vice Admiral Garp has taken me under his wing for special training. He said I should come to Loguetown to get some field experience and to officially enroll as a Marine cadet. He believes it's crucial for my development. So, what he wants me to do is..."

Raiden began explaining everything that he and Garp had discussed the day before in detail, also adding a few points of his own.

Smoker listened carefully, his expression still hard but his interest was now clearly evident. "Vice Admiral Garp has really gone out of his way for you, hasn't he?" he muttered under his breath, cursing Garp for putting him in this situation.

'All that for this kid? Now that I think about it, he does look significantly stronger than most kids his age. Hah! What a hassle!' Smoker thought, rubbing his forehead.

He studied Raiden for a moment longer, then nodded. "Alright, if Garp sent you, there must be something special about you." He pulled out a form from a drawer in his desk and handed it to Raiden. "Fill this out."

Raiden took the form and glanced over it, quickly scribbling down his details. There were a few sections that made him pause, unsure of what to write. Smoker noticed his hesitation and leaned over, pointing out what needed to be filled in.

"Here, put your full name there. And here, your place of birth. This section is for any previous training or skills. If you have none, leave it blank." Smoker explained, his tone a bit softer but still authoritative.

Raiden nodded, grateful for the guidance, and filled out the form accordingly. Once he was done, he handed it back to Smoker, who didn't even look at the paper and threw it away with other applications.

"Alright," Smoker said, standing up from his seat. "Follow me. We're going to see if you have what it takes."

Smoker motioned for Raiden to follow him to the training grounds. They stepped out into a large, open area filled with various training equipment: wooden dummies for hand-to-hand combat practice, weighted barrels for strength training, and an obstacle course for agility drills.

Recruits were scattered around, each deeply engrossed in their respective exercises, although some of them turned to look at the Captain with raised eyebrows. It was not everyday they got to see the captain.

Smoker pointed to a group of three Marines standing nearby. "You three, come over here," he barked.

The first Marine was a tall, muscular man with a shaved head and a stern expression. "This is Petty Officer Boris," Smoker introduced.

The second Marine, a shorter but stockier man with a thick beard and a scar running across his cheek, stepped forward. "This is Petty Officer Bane."

The last Marine was a lean, wiry man with sharp features and quick, darting eyes. "And this is Petty Officer Kiro."

He then turned back to Raiden and gestured at the three men. "You'll be fighting them, one by one."

The three Marines exchanged glances, then turned to Smoker. "Sir, are you sure you want us to fight this kid?" Boris asked, a note of uncertainty in his voice.

"Yeah, he looks kind of young," Bane added, scratching his beard.

Kiro too, nodded nervously in agreement. He was pretty apprehensive about fighting a little kid.

Smoker glared at them with a stern expression. "You heard me. I want to see what he's made of."

With that, Smoker moved to the sidelines, standing next to Ronan. He muttered under his breath, "Let's see how he does."

Ronan, who had been silent up until this point, spoke up. "Why not have all three of them come at him at once?"

Smoker turned to him, eyebrows raised. "Why do you say that? I already gave him a much harder test than other cadets, you know?"

Ronan smirked under his disguise. "Ah, I see. Well, then you should get stretchers ready. Cause that fucker is going to slaughter your boys."

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