Deep breath—
"Exhale—"
"Now, I'm going to tell you something, and I need you not to be afraid," Joseph said, his expression deadly serious.
Smoker and Hina nodded in synchronization. "We are Marines; we do not get afraid."
The build-up—
"The Heavenly Tribute... right under our noses... it just vanished into thin air!"
Inhale—Smoker and Hina exchanged a glance, their expressions becoming one of profound "respect."
"How did it vanish?" Smoker asked.
"Into thin air! Thin air! Do you not understand?!" Joseph gestured wildly with his hands. "We were right there on the deck. The very second the soldiers reported a problem, we used Soru and burst into the hold. But it was just... gone. Right in front of us."
"Pfft—"
"What are you laughing at?" Joseph snapped, glaring at Smoker.
"I'm not laughing. I ate something bad and accidentally let out some gas. Please, continue."
"You're saying the Tribute was stolen?"
A look of reminiscence crossed Joseph's face. "It wasn't just 'stolen.' It was... special! Into thin air, do you get it? All six of us were on that ship. Not a leaf could twitch without us seeing it. And yet, it vanished right under our eyes..."
"Pfft—"
"What are you laughing at now?" Joseph snarled at Hina. "Did you let out gas, too?"
"No... beauties do not let out gas. I was merely sighing."
"..."
"Could it be the work of the Clear-Clear Fruit user?" Hina proposed as a possible answer.
Joseph shook his head. "No! Even if they were invisible, an intruder would make a sound. Nothing escapes Madariss's ears! Besides, moving that much treasure would create a racket."
"Then maybe a Devil Fruit with teleportation powers? Like the Door-Door Fruit?" Smoker suggested.
"No... that fruit is held by one of our own," Joseph said, his voice dropping slightly.
"Hina feels there is only one possibility left~"
"What?" they all asked, turning to her.
"Ghosts," Hina said with a straight face.
Smoker was the first to break, followed by every Marine on deck in a domino effect of snorts and chuckles.
"Pfft-hah!"
"Puff!"
"You're taking this too far! I've reached my limit with you!" Joseph's forehead veins were throbbing.
"I told you, bad stomach. Gas."
"You are clearly laughing! You haven't stopped!"
Smoker forced his face back into a stoic mask. "Mr. Joseph, we are Marines. We have undergone rigorous training. We do not laugh. Tell you what, Joseph—we'll report this to HQ. You take the remaining two ships of treasure back to Mary Geoise. We'll notify you when we have news."
Joseph suppressed his fury and nodded. He led the CP0 members toward the final two ships. He knew these Marines wouldn't help him investigate properly; they belonged to different branches. The Marines reported to HQ; if the Tribute was lost, it wasn't their heads on the block—it was CP0's.
As Joseph walked away, a roar of laughter erupted behind him.
"Hahahaha!"
Joseph's face darkened even further. I need to go back and check on the Door-Door user, Blueno, he thought. He remembered a saying: When you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. What if there really is a traitor within Cipher Pol? I need someone to hand over to the Celestial Dragons. One person dying is better than all of us dying...
Once the others had dispersed, only Smoker and Hina remained on the deck. Smoker stopped laughing and took a long drag of his cigar, his expression unreadable.
"Could it be related to Queen Connie?"
Smoker was no fool; his investigative skills were top-tier. Connie's arrival was too convenient. The second she showed up, the treasure on the ships vanished. The timing was too perfect.
"Hina doesn't know..." Hina replied ambiguously, blowing a smoke ring from her slim cigarette. "Do you plan to report this to the top?"
Smoker took a deep drag until the cherry hit the stub. He exhaled a massive cloud. "Why report it?"
"What does this have to do with us?"
"Aren't we here to catch pirates? Helping them transport treasure was just a side gig."
He had always been disgusted by the Celestial Dragons' exploitation of the people. If Connie had a way to silently reclaim the Tribute from their hands, he was more than happy to let it happen. This meant that next spring, far fewer people in the Sorbet Kingdom would starve to death...
After all, the justice he believed in—like Garp's—was a "Justice Rooted in the Heart."
"Captain Smoker, we found this in the looted hold."
A soldier handed Smoker a slip of paper with a black spider pattern on it.
"A spider..." Smoker looked grim. "What does this symbol represent? Why leave it at the scene? Is there some symbolic meaning?"
The two pondered for a while but found no leads. Smoker frowned at the rain-dusted surface of the sea and sighed.
"It's a restless season..."
Jewelry Bonney, with her dangerous Age-Age Fruit, had set sail. A giant cruise ship representing an unknown "Kakin Empire" had appeared. There was a technology that allowed ability users to resist Sea Prism Stone. And now, a "Spider" who could steal the Heavenly Tribute into thin air under the gaze of CP0.
Smoker walked to the railing, the rain soaking his coat, white smoke rising into the gloomy sky. He lit a new cigar. He felt the South Blue was undergoing a transformation he didn't understand. This feeling of losing control made his unease grow stronger.
Hina joined him at the rail. "What's the plan? Coming back to HQ with me to report?"
"You go back first," Smoker said, his voice low as he kept his cigar lit through sheer lung capacity. "The issues here aren't something we can solve. Report it to the Fleet Admiral and let them decide. I'm going to track the direction that giant ship escaped in."
"I have a feeling..." Smoker crushed the cigar stub and immediately lit another. "I feel like all of this... is connected to that giant ship."
---
Chrollo, of course, didn't know Smoker was having an existential crisis. If he did, he'd just say: Surprise! I'm the one behind all of it!
Back on the Black Whale, his handsome face was twisted into a grin that bordered on a manic "Ahegao" of joy. The amount of physical treasure was secondary. From the moment he completed the theft of the Heavenly Tribute...
[Bandit's Secret] had been flashing non-stop.
"This time... I've hit the jackpot."
---