"Vice Admiral Smoker! Vice Admiral Ace!"
Not far from the island where the Straw Hat Pirates, Crocodile, and Moria were clashing in a chaotic battle, the Navy warship carrying Smoker, Ace, and Tashigi was quietly observing the situation.
As for how none of the three warring sides had noticed them…
The warship had already dropped anchor and remained stable. Even with the ebb and flow of the sea, it stayed within a precise, unchanging radius.
Thanks to Tashigi's illusionary arts, the entire area around the warship had been perfectly disguised as a reef in the middle of the ocean!
Each of the arriving parties—Straw Hat Pirates, Gecko Moria, and Crocodile—had taken note of the reef, but not one of them had grown suspicious.
Even Crocodile, who had been to the area before, didn't question it. It was just a reef. There were plenty around here. Who would remember such minor details?
The ship's military-grade binoculars easily spotted the skirmish at the island's center.
At the time, Smoker and Ace were standing at the bow of the warship, attempting to sense the island's events using their Observation Haki.
Smoker was chewing on a cigar, rubbing his temple as if he'd just strained himself.
"Damn it… Thanks to Mr. Issho and Wright's guidance, I'm finally getting the hang of it. The particulate nature of my smoke isn't much worse than Enel's electromagnetic waves in this context."
"Well, as long as your smoke is diffused enough, it can help with Observation without obstructing your vision. Not bad at all," Ace replied, adjusting his hat with a wry smile.
"But my fire's another story. Thermal radiation imaging is way too influenced by the environment around it. I still can't get it to work precisely."
"Still, it's a promising direction."
Smoker turned to the scout who'd come to report.
"What've you got?"
"Sir! The three factions on the island—Straw Hats and Crocodile seem to have formed a temporary alliance. Gecko Moria's getting pushed back hard and looks like he won't last much longer!"
"Hm… So that's how it is. I could only sense that it was an intense fight. Looks like I still need more training."
Smoker nodded.
"A two-on-one? Moria's loss is pretty much inevitable then. The real question is—once he's down, will the remaining two sides turn on each other? Or move on to the real reason they came here?"
"Keep watching. Ace and I are heading to the island."
Smoker chomped down on another cigar. Without even lighting it, it began to emit wisps of smoke—Ace gave him a look of pure distaste.
"Pass the word to Tashigi: Once Moria flees, there's no need to remain hidden. Capture him immediately."
"Yes, sir!"
Smoker gave Ace a glare as he took off, his lower body turning into smoke and launching him into the air.
"Let's go, kid!"
"On it~"
Flames burst from Ace's feet as he shot into the sky, quickly catching up to Smoker.
"Smoker-ossan, don't you think something always happens wherever Luffy shows up?"
"Haaah?! You finally figured that out?!"
Smoker scowled. "I was about to say the same to you! Isn't he your brother?!"
"If Wright hadn't dragged your sorry self into the Marines back then, you'd be making as much trouble as him!"
"Hehehe… Is that so? I don't think I'm quite the chaos magnet he is. And hey, I'm just one guy. They're a whole gang of troublemakers!"
Ace grinned mischievously. "That said, with the way things are now, becoming Pirate King's going to be tough for Luffy. He's running out of time."
"Hmph! Naive!"
Smoker snorted.
"Pirate King? Roger only earned that title after circumnavigating the world and finding the final island—Laugh Tale!"
"And even though Roger was unmatched in strength, he never sought to rule the seas."
"Straw Hat may share Roger's ideals, but whether it's finding Laugh Tale or personal strength, he's still far from the mark!"
"Besides, one of the four Road Poneglyphs is still missing. Who knows how long it'll take to find it?"
Ace chuckled lightly. "Well… Fate works in strange ways."
"No matter what, Luffy's enjoying the journey toward his dream. If he ever does find Laugh Tale, maybe he won't even want to be a pirate anymore, who knows? Hahaha…"
"Hmph! Before that happens, we'll toss him into Impel Down and save everyone the trouble."
Smoker grinned as he descended onto the island, scanning the surroundings.
"Haha… He's my little brother, sure—but I've never gone easy on him. They're just damn hard to catch, that's all~"
Ace dropped down in a trail of fire behind him.
"Smoker-ossan, I'm heading ahead to take a look!"
"Yeah. I'll try and find what they're after…"
Smoker closed his eyes, focusing his Haki. Tiny particles of smoke radiated outward from him, blanketing the island.
"Don't scare them off too early. If I fail on my end, we'll be counting on them to find it."
"Relax, I got this."
Ace waved lazily and strolled toward the island's center.
Smoker shook his head and resumed his scan.
"What the hell is on this island that brought all three of them here?"
"At the very least… we're bringing two of them back in chains today!"
...
At the center of the island, the battle had already been decided.
Absalom, the Invisible Man, was lying cracked and battered. Though still breathing, he was clearly out of the fight.
Moria's zombie army had once again been utterly wiped out. Even though he was much stronger than he was two years ago, he still suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the Straw Hat–Crocodile alliance.
"We're out!"
Absalom looked at the bloodied and unconscious Moria, who had just been pummeled by Luffy's Gomu Gomu no Kong Organ, and decisively surrendered.
"I'll take Moria-sama and leave immediately! The island's yours…"
"Oi, oi… You've gotta be kidding me."
Crocodile's face was stone cold as he looked at Absalom like he was a joke.
"We're pirates."
"In the world of pirates, you don't get to walk away alive just because you lost. You're not seriously that naïve, are you?"
"Moria's a big-name pirate. You're his subordinate. Don't be a fool."
"Leave? You're dreaming—"
"Sure!"
Luffy had already reverted to normal. He picked his nose nonchalantly and looked over at his crewmates.
"We've gotten stronger, and nobody's seriously hurt. Since Moria lost, go ahead and take him. Just don't come back."
"…"
A vein throbbed visibly on Crocodile's forehead.
"Straw Hat! Letting him go is a huge risk—"
"It's fine!"
Luffy tipped his straw hat back and grinned.
"If he comes back, we'll just beat him again!"
"We're only going to get stronger!"
"…Much obliged."
Absalom gave Luffy a long, intense look. Twice now, this young man had defeated them—he couldn't help but feel a grudging respect.
"Farewell!"
With that, Absalom vanished into the distance carrying Moria. Crocodile let out a slow, tense breath.
Naive! Foolish!
And yet… so damn strong!
How the hell did they make it this far?!
Was teaming up with them really the right move?!
Crocodile fell into a deep spiral of self-doubt.
"Hey, Croc!"
Luffy called cheerfully as he watched Moria disappear from view. He turned and looked back at Crocodile with a wide grin.
"Now that the annoying guy's gone, let's get started!"
"The key item to becoming Pirate King… What could it be? I can't wait!"
immense wealth to build Baroque Works from the ground up."
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