"What? Smoker's leaving?"
After stopping Smoker, Red also called over the Straw Hat crew, who were in the middle of sparring.
The moment they heard that Smoker would be leaving Alabasta with the other Marines, everyone's faces showed different reactions.
Zoro, who had stripped off his shirt during the fight, rested a long blade on his shoulder and grinned broadly.
"What a shame, Marine."
"Right up until you leave, you still haven't beaten me even once!"
"Hmph! Looks like our fight will have to be left to the seas of the future!" Smoker replied, forcing himself to sound cool.
Even as the loser, he still wanted to battle Zoro a few more times, to cross blades and trade blows again.
But things had come to this; the rest would have to be entrusted to the future.
At the side, Sanji's eyes were instantly blazing, his whole body almost bursting into flames as he shouted in jealous outrage:
"Damn it! What the hell did you even do in the Marines, you bastard!?"
"Did you actually work hard for justice and the people of the world or not!?"
"How can a guy like you have a lady Marine come specifically to pick you up!?"
"Are you worthy of the people of Loguetown who support you!?"
"Ahem, ero–cook, cool it." Smoker shot Sanji a sideways glance. "Since you saved my life once, I won't mention how you were planning to peep while the girls were bathing."
"Hey! You literally just said it out loud!" Usopp continued in his role as the crew's dedicated straight man, then asked anxiously, "Anyway…"
"Those Marines really aren't going to come after us, right?"
"Our paradise hasn't even opened for business yet!"
Zzzzap—!!!
Nami slammed her staff into Sanji, unleashing a terrifying bolt of lightning that left him charred from head to toe.
As Sanji muttered, "This is Miss Nami's loving whip of encouragement…" she turned to Usopp and said:
"Relax! Our park's business license is officially recognized by the Kingdom of Alabasta, and the legal owner is Vivi…"
"Whether it's the Marines or the World Government, none of them have the right to interfere with our park!"
"But… how did the Marines know Smoker was here!?"
Sharp-witted as ever, Nami quickly picked up on the same key point that Red had noticed.
But for now, no one could answer that question.
Once the non-farewell farewell was over, Smoker finally fixed his eyes on Luffy.
At the moment of parting, a strange light flashed through his gaze.
Smoker spoke:
"Straw Hat brat! You lot too… next time we meet, we'll be enemies!"
With one hand, he gripped his newly modified jitte from Usopp. With the other, he rested his palm on the poison-tipped head that Chopper had concocted, and growled:
"When that time comes, I definitely won't let you off!!!"
"Shishishi~!" Luffy grinned. "Okay! Then we'll throw another banquet together when we meet!!!"
"Idiot! That's not what I meant!"
Smoker exploded in anger.
But the next second, he suddenly relaxed and laughed. "Forget it."
"In any case, thanks for looking after me during this time."
"But long-nose, next time I won't let you catch me off guard so easily!"
"Hey, hey, hey? Am I really that aggro-drawing?!" Usopp stared, baffled.
Blackbeard from last time was one thing already, but how come even Smoker had to leave his "most important last words" specifically to him before departing!?
Whoosh—!
A Hyperspace Hole leading straight to the royal palace of Alabasta suddenly opened.
On the other side of the portal, Mr. 1—who had already received the message—was at the palace, in front of the residence where Hina and the other Marines were staying, serving as an anchor point for Red.
"Lord Red."
As soon as Red, Vivi, and Smoker stepped out, Mr. 1 greeted them respectfully.
"Long time no see, Mr. 1."
"How's the new recruit training coming along?"
"Very smoothly," Mr. 1 answered seriously. "According to the level standards you set, Lord Red, those former Baroque Works agents have now reached an average level of 12."
"And the personnel later recruited by Princess Vivi now have an average level of 8."
"Not bad at all~!"
Hearing his report, Red nodded in satisfaction. "Tell them to train even harder."
"Some time from now, I'll grant Pokémon power to every soldier who exceeds evaluation level 10!"
"And anyone who performs especially well will be able to go to the Pokémon Paradise and adopt a Pokémon for free!"
"Yes, sir!" At these words, Mr. 1's eyes flashed with a sharp gleam.
He knew the inside story…
Inside the Pokémon Paradise, there were quite a few "Pokémon" whose innate talents were no weaker than theirs—maybe even stronger—but who lacked a way to grow their strength.
If even ordinary soldiers could obtain a Pokémon as a battle partner, then with Lord Red's style, there was no way he'd let them high-ranking officers lose out!
Seeing the look on Mr. 1's face, as if he'd already guessed the truth, Red couldn't help but smile faintly.
Just as Mr. 1 suspected, Red had indeed prepared several Pokémon with excellent base stats for the captains and vice-captains of the Thirteen Guardian Squads, as well as the future seated officers.
Most of these Pokémon weren't very high level yet, but their total stats far surpassed other beings of the same rank.
From the perspective of the AR system, their situation was simple: they had never had the means to gain experience or level up, so their actual combat power wasn't that impressive yet.
Cases like that weren't rare in the world of pirates.
For example, Koby—whose fate had already been changed—and that little girl Aisa on Sky Island who awakened a special Observation Haki; they both fit this category.
Naturally, these innately gifted Pokémon had all been carefully marked by Red and kept within his own circle.
His mind turned, and Red spoke directly to Mr. 1:
"Thanks for making the trip."
"There's nothing more here for you to worry about. Head back and keep busy."
"Yes, Lord Red!"
Having successfully learned how to fuse Pokémon energy with his Devil Fruit powers to make his blades even sharper, Mr. 1 responded at once, then obediently took his leave.
The next moment, Red and the other two pushed open the doors of a side hall and stepped inside.
Although the Alabasta court didn't feel very kindly toward the Marines—who had created the Seven Warlords system—status was status, so Cobra had still ordered a luxurious palace prepared for Hina and the other Marines to rest in.
However…
Before Red and the others could even speak after entering the hall, a figure wearing a Marine "Justice" coat just happened to be standing at the second-floor railing, lazily stretching and showing off a perfect silhouette.
That figure was none other than the Marine Headquarters Captain who had come to Alabasta specifically in search of Smoker—Hina.
"Ahem~!" Seeing this, Smoker hurriedly cleared his throat twice to remind his friend.
Hearing the sudden sound, Hina froze for a moment.
When she saw that the person walking into the hall was actually Smoker, her expression instantly turned to shock, and she said:
"Smoker! You really did end up hanging around with pirates!? Hina is very angry!"
"…"
Smoker: If I say I was actually kidnapped, would you believe me?!
…
…
Several hours later, at the harbor of Nanohana.
Standing on Hina's Marine warship, Smoker looked back at Red, who was waving him off, and couldn't help the turmoil rising in his heart.
Strictly speaking, he'd only wound up on the Going Merry because he'd lost and been carelessly left there by Usopp.
But after experiencing such a long stretch of adventure together, there was no way his heart hadn't been moved at all.
What bothered him even more was that something outrageous seemed to have happened within the Marines.
"Blackbeard actually became a Marine!?"
"What the hell is going on!?"
Gazing at the Kingdom of Alabasta as it slowly vanished beyond the horizon, Smoker frowned deeply, his face clouded with worry.
For some reason, he had a strong feeling that this "return journey" of his would not be pleasant.
At the very least…
It would be nowhere near as enjoyable as the time he'd spent mixed in with the Straw Hat Pirates!
(End of Chapter)