Gojo, standing on the deck of his ship, looked toward the approaching dock of Loguetown's port. The familiar scent of salt and wood hit him as the shoreline drew closer. He had been here before—five years ago—when Smoker rescued him and sent him off toward Shellpoint Town in the Frauce Kingdom. Five years… feels like another lifetime. This was his first time returning to Loguetown since then.
Soon, Gojo docked his ship at the port. After paying the docking fee, he hoisted the body bags—containing Krieg, Gin, Ideaman, and Pearl—over his shoulder one by one. Their weight didn't slow him. With steady footsteps he began moving toward the town, his purpose clear. He was heading straight for the Marine Base in Loguetown, where he intended to submit the bodies and claim the bounty for each of them.
Gojo had made it halfway to the Marine Base when a young woman appeared before him. Her glasses rested on top of her head, and she stepped into his path with brisk confidence. "My name is Tashigi," she said. "Captain Smoker has ordered me to bring you to meet him as soon as you arrive here in Loguetown. He's expecting your arrival."
Gojo, wearing his black sunglasses, gave a small nod. Without a word, he fell into step beside her, following her lead toward the Marine Base.
Tashigi walked ahead with quick, precise steps, but the whole time it felt as if she wanted to say something to Gojo. She kept glancing at him from the corner of her eye, opening her mouth slightly as if to speak—only to close it again a moment later. In the end, she stayed silent, and soon they reached the Marine Base. Without delay, she led Gojo through its halls and straight to Smoker's office.
As soon as Gojo entered with Tashigi, she addressed the man who was still lounging on his chair. "Captain, I have brought Gojo Satoru as you instructed," she said.
Smoker's eyes snapped open the moment he heard her words. He immediately stood up, his gaze locking onto the now-grown Gojo. He wasn't the sentimental type, but even he couldn't stop the small wave of surprise and recognition that passed over his face.
"You've grown up, kid," Smoker said. "Back when I saved you five years ago, I figured you'd become something big someday. Turns out I was right. The first thing you did after leaving Shellpoint Town was take down a pirate group as big as the Krieg Pirates—pirates even many Marines avoided."
Gojo let out a small chuckle. "If Krieg had ever dared to cross paths with you, he'd have been destroyed by now. I think he purposely avoided your presence."
Smoker, confident and prideful as always when it came to his Devil Fruit powers, replied without hesitation, "Yes, you're right about that."
Gojo laughed even harder at Smoker's blunt confidence, the sound echoing softly through the office.
Smoker made a casual hand gesture toward the chair opposite him and said, "Come, have a seat. It's been a long time since we last talked."
Gojo sat down, the leather chair creaking softly under him, and Tashigi—still standing nearby—spoke politely. "I'll make sure the bounties for the pirates you brought are calculated, and that your money is prepared. I'll also send someone with snacks."
Smoker nodded, appreciative of her thoroughness. But before she could take a step toward the door, he stopped her. "You don't need to leave. It's not like we're going to talk about anything secret or private. You can stay."
It was clear he understood she wanted to give them privacy, but it simply wasn't necessary. Hearing that, Tashigi hesitated for a moment, then remained inside the office, standing off to the side with a composed posture.
Smoker leaned back slightly and asked, "So, how exactly did your sword training go? Was the master in that village satisfactory to you?"
Gojo looked toward him and nodded. "It was honestly surprising for me. I never expected someone like Master Kishimoto to be living in a small place like Cloverbook Village. You'd be surprised too—he can actually be considered a great swordsman among all swordsmen. He was the one who reached the realm of listening to the 'Breath of All Things'. That helped me a lot, and after sparring with him many times, I was also able to reach that realm."
Smoker, who had trained in the Headquarters region of the Marines, understood very well what this realm of swordsmanship meant. For Gojo to reach that level—something rare even among the elite swordsmen of the Marines—was undeniable proof that Gojo was an extraordinary genius.
Tashigi, listening quietly from the side, was equally stunned. Her eyes widened behind her glasses as Gojo casually mentioned that he had reached the realm where a swordsman can "listen to the Breath of All Things." She hadn't come anywhere close to that stage yet, and it had always been one of her dreams.
In her heart, she had already wanted to spar with Gojo ever since she saw that newspaper image of him swinging his sword and slicing a ship apart with a single strike. She'd imagined learning from him, maybe even receiving a few pointers. But hearing this now made it painfully clear—Gojo was operating on a completely different level.
Someone like him… why would he waste time sparring with me?
Suppressing the impulse quietly, she pushed the thought down into her heart and decided she would not ask Gojo for a sparring match.
Smoker exhaled a thin stream of smoke and said, "It was late, but I received the report from the Marine Base in the Frauce Kingdom just a few minutes ago. The details were quite vivid. You killed many members of the Krieg Pirates—not to mention every officer and the captain himself."
Gojo shrugged lightly. "Yeah. I mean, I didn't want to attack them on purpose. They were the ones who attacked me first and provoked me. I ignored them at first—I didn't want to ruin my mood on the very first day of my sail—but they pushed it. So I pushed back."
He leaned back slightly, adjusting his sunglasses. "And if you remember, five years ago I told you I didn't want to be a Marine or a pirate. I said I'd be a pirate hunter. So, I did what I must. And that makes me an associate of the Marines in a sense… but only as long as Marines don't look at bounty hunters like we're stealing their credit or something. And we both know how that usually goes. Marines generally hate bounty hunters because, in a way, our work highlights their incompetence."
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