One piece: Dark Smoker

Upon hearing Gismonda's command, Smoker froze.

What is this nonsense they're saying?!

Any pirate with a brain would never attack a government ship.

Does this mean he has to ignore the Fang Pirate Crew?

His comrades were fighting hard out there! And there were thousands of civilians on Pumiso Island!

"I won't accept this!" Smoker's face darkened.

"The best way to protect is to attack. If pirates were to get near the World Nobles, wouldn't that be a huge failure for the Navy?!"

Gismonda replied coldly, "This is not something you should worry about, Navy. You're overstepping your boundaries!"

Maha added, "The Navy is merely the World Government's force. You don't need to think, just obey orders!"

A cold glint flashed in Smoker's eyes.

It was just the two of them now.

Maybe...

Suddenly, Smoker sensed a large and familiar presence.

"Zephyr-sensei?!"

Zephyr had used his Moon Step to arrive in a flash.

Without wasting a second, he landed on the deck and hurried toward the group.

"What's going on? What are you doing?!!"

The tense atmosphere had clearly reached him.

"It's nothing, Zephyr-sensei..." Smoker replied quickly, offering a brief explanation of the situation.

He also subtly mentioned the situation on Pumiso Island.

Zephyr's expression shifted when he heard it.

He had told Smoker to cooperate with CP, but he didn't expect things to become this urgent.

Zephyr was known as the "Non-Killer" Admiral. If he treated pirates like this, how would he handle the thousands of civilians and his students?

Without hesitation, Zephyr turned to the CP agents and said, "Smoker is right. Any threat to the Celestial Dragons needs to be eliminated in advance. If your superiors are unhappy, tell them to come to me directly!"

Gismonda and Maha hesitated, exchanging glances, but reluctantly agreed and left to report back to their superiors.

The Navy answered to the World Government, but when it came to Admirals, things were different.

Even CP leaders ranked lower than Zephyr had no authority over him.

Zephyr's intervention gave Smoker some relief and allowed him to save face in the situation.

If it had been Garp instead, who knew what might have happened...

After dealing with the CP agents, Zephyr nodded at Smoker.

Smoker quickly ordered full speed ahead, feeling a little lighter.

But just when it seemed like things were settling, both Gismonda and Zephyr's transponder snails rang simultaneously.

They both paused, finding quiet corners to take the calls.

Once they hung up, Gismonda's expression was concealed by her mask, but Zephyr's face was grim.

Smoker rushed over. "Zephyr-sensei, what happened?!"

Zephyr's face darkened. "That was Admiral Kong's call..."

Smoker's chest tightened with a bad premonition.

Zephyr gritted his teeth. "The Celestial Dragons themselves have ordered our ship to escort them..."

Smoker's face turned pale.

If it had been a World Government official, Zephyr could have argued, and even if it led to a fight, it would have been just a work dispute.

But when the Celestial Dragons gave an order, defying them was crossing a line...

Zephyr slapped Smoker's shoulder and said, his voice softer now, "Just follow orders."

"Understood..."

The warship sped up.

But instead of chasing pirates, it was now following the Celestial Dragons' ship.

In the command room, Smoker and Zephyr sat facing each other.

The table was piled with cigars and fine liquor, but nothing felt satisfying.

As for the two CP agents, Smoker no longer bothered to accommodate them, shoving them into another room.

With Zephyr there, they didn't dare cause trouble.

Smoker sent a message to Ault, but all he received was a brief "Got it" before the line went dead.

"Zephyr-sensei... why?"

When Smoker used to watch One Piece, he thought the Celestial Dragons were outrageous. But now, experiencing the reality firsthand, he was struggling to accept it.

One word from them, and he had to abandon the safety of thousands of people just to "escort" them.

Zephyr gulped down his drink.

"There's nothing we can do. The Celestial Dragons' orders are the law. They cannot be defied…"

Smoker shot him a deep, questioning look.

Zephyr sighed and continued. "Actually, we could defy the orders if we really wanted to…"

"But the consequences would be even worse!"

Smoker's eyes widened in shock. "What consequences? Are you talking about punishment for us?!"

Zephyr shook his head. "Who cares about that…"

He leaned forward, his voice low but grave. "You know, our military funding comes from the World Government's taxes. It's basically gold from the heavens. When the cannons fire, it's like the government hands over a mountain of gold…"

Smoker's confusion deepened, but Zephyr pressed on.

"Without the World Government's financial support, the Navy wouldn't even last a year. And it's not just a fixed amount—this funding is adjustable, based on the situation. The most important factor is how we treat the Celestial Dragons…"

"Zephyr-sensei…"

Smoker interrupted, sensing the gravity of the situation. "Is the Navy really just going to let them choke us like this? Don't we have the means to make our own money?!"

The Navy controlled the strongest military force on the seas; making money should be easy.

Zephyr looked at Smoker seriously.

"Never mention this again…"

"After I became an Admiral, I realized this system wasn't right for the Navy. I wanted to find other ways to raise military funds, but you should know how that ended…"

"How did it end?"

Smoker froze, then was horrified.

Could it be that Zephyr's wife and child were the ones who were killed?

Smoker had always been puzzled about how an Admiral's family could be murdered at Navy HQ.

It wasn't during a large-scale attack; they were targeted directly.

And they succeeded.

It was simply unbelievable.

There must have been some truly powerful pirates behind it—pirates so formidable that even Roger or Whitebeard would have had to pay their respects.

Turns out, it was the work of the World Government…

Seeing that Smoker understood, Zephyr took another sip of his drink.

"It was after this incident that I realized—the World Government doesn't want a powerful Navy, they want a subservient one."

"Sadly, I figured this out too late…"

Smoker frowned. "Didn't you… think about getting revenge?!"

"Revenge…" Zephyr smiled bitterly and shook his head.

"How could I get revenge? Demand justice? Pretend to obey while undermining them? Or just march straight to the Red Line?!"

"No matter how we do it, it would drain the Navy's strength, and in the end, it's the innocent civilians who would pay the price."

"That's why, even though I resigned as Admiral, I still stay to train the new recruits. Because I can't just leave it all behind!!"

Smoker furrowed his brow.

Wasn't this like holding a gun to the good guys?

If it were Garp...

Well, no matter who it was, it wouldn't change things.

Garp, Sengoku, Zephyr, Crane…

No matter their personalities, their feelings for the Navy were the same.

None of them would sacrifice the Navy's strength for their personal gain.

The World Government knew this and used it to their advantage, which made them even more reckless.

Zephyr exhaled deeply.

"Back to the main point."

"If we defy the Celestial Dragons this time, the World Government will use that as an excuse to cut our military funding, which would force the Navy to reduce its forces."

"By then, the threat won't just be Pumiso Island."

Smoker nodded. "I understand…"

Though he said this, in his mind, there was still one key issue he couldn't bring himself to voice.

In his mind, the Celestial Dragons were like the feudal lords in Naruto—foolish and rich.

Logically, these people should be easy to take down.

But whether it was the Navy or the Ninjas, no one dared to touch them… or even think about it.

If it were Smoker…

The Navy has men and weapons, what's stopping them?

Even if they feared the Five Elders or the Guardians, they could still find other ways.

The simplest one being:

If they dare to withhold my money, I'll seal off your seas. See how you grow food on the Red Line.

But these were just Smoker's thoughts, things he couldn't say out loud right now…

Just then, a Marine knocked on the door.

"Zephyr Admiral, Smoker Colonel, we're nearing the Celestial Dragons' ship!"

"Got it," Zephyr replied.

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