Chapter 81: Sabaody Archipelago – Smoker and Tashigi (Part 2)
"They're the ones who attacked the East Blue base and escaped from Vice Admiral Onigumo—'Fierce Pirate' Eric , 'Hunter' Akame, and 'Sagittarius' Chiron!" Smoker was shocked. He had just snuck out of Marine HQ hoping to catch a few ordinary pirates, and instead bumped into wanted criminals with high bounties.
"And that's not all," Tashigi added, "They also have 'Ice Queen' Esdeath, the one who defeated Warlord Gecko Moria! From just three members, they've grown this strong already…"
"Ah?" Those with Observation Haki in the group overheard Smoker and Tashigi and turned to look in their direction.
"!!" Smoker and Tashigi hadn't expected their quiet conversation to be overheard. They quickly looked down, pretending they hadn't said anything, or trying to act like nobodies who had just let something slip in front of big names.
The others glanced briefly, then looked away—but not Eric . 'Isn't that "Smoker the White Hunter," the same guy who always clashed with the Straw Hats? And that must be Tashigi, the one with the Cage-Cage Fruit. Looks and figure… not bad.' Eric casually assessed her in his mind.
"Ara, still looking?" came Kurumi's voice.
"Nope, not anymore." Eric turned his head at light-speed, as if kicked by Kizaru himself, only to receive a hard twist to the waist from Kurumi.
The undercover Marine duo began whispering again.
"What now, Smoker? Should we report back to HQ?"
"No, let's find out where they're staying first, then report."
"Smoker! Didn't you notice they overheard our whispers? They're probably listening in right now too!"
'Yes, we're eavesdropping.' Between Eric 's Rumble-Rumble Fruit and Observation Haki, plus Chiron, Akame, and Esdeath's own Haki, they could hear every word clearly.
Esdeath's lips curled into a grin—today's opponents had delivered themselves.
"Don't even think about it… I don't like some Marines either, but those two are decent people," Eric warned her, recognizing the meaning behind her expression.
"But they might report our location to Marine HQ. Captain, what should we do?" Chiron asked quietly.
"Let's eat first. They'll probably tail us. Once we're in a deserted spot, we can fight it out and drive them off." Eric then suddenly remembered something and spoke into his communicator: "Hey? Scáthach? Have you eaten yet? Want us to bring you something?"
...
After a full meal, Eric 's group left the bar—with two new shadows following behind.
'They really followed us. Smoker, weren't you the one who spotted Luffy in Loguetown and kicked off a two-year pursuit? Changing assignments just to chase him across the seas—don't start shipping yourself with me now.' Eric was exasperated. Smoker still looked young and bold, likely emboldened by his Logia powers to fear no one.
"Smoker, that's enough," Tashigi said, clearly uneasy. Every time she had this feeling, something bad happened.
"This place will do," Eric said, leading the group to a quiet, secluded area. Then he turned around to face the two following behind. Smoker and Tashigi realized something was wrong—but it was too late.
"They found us! You go!" Smoker shouted under his breath, signaling Tashigi to escape. He had insisted on tracking them—it wouldn't be right to Dragon her down too.
Crackle crackle—They suddenly heard the sound of static electricity. Eric appeared behind them in a flash.
"How did he get behind us?!" The two fresh graduates from Marine training camp were shocked. They immediately stepped back and assumed fighting stances.
At the same time, Esdeath shifted to a flanking position, forming a triangle with Eric and Chiron that completely cut off escape.
"Sorry, Tashigi… I got you caught up in this," Smoker said quietly.
"What are you saying, Smoker-kun? I chose to come," Tashigi replied, lighting a cigarette and placing it between her enticing red lips. In her mind, this might be her last smoke.
"Ahem," Eric interrupted their dramatic farewell, "No need to be so tense. I'm not going to do anything to you."
"Don't mess with us, pirate!" Smoker shouted, unusually angry for reasons he didn't even understand.
"Huh? I haven't killed any civilians, haven't attacked merchant ships or looted towns. Why are you so mad at me?" Eric was puzzled. He hadn't wronged him.
"Darren Eric ," Tashigi said, using his full name. "Your first bounty was issued for attacking a Marine base in the East Blue, killing an officer, and stealing Navy funds."
"And you claim you've never robbed civilians or looted towns?" she asked sternly.
"Yeah, I did raid a base and kill the commanding officer," Eric admitted without hesitation.
Even Polki and Perona were shocked. Few pirates dared to attack Marines—let alone a base.
"But you don't know the reason, do you?" Eric sighed. "That East Blue 16th Branch's Major Nezumi? He tried to cheat us out of the bounty for killing Don Krieg! He and other bounty hunters framed us, took bribes, covered for criminals, and oppressed civilians."
After listing all of Nezumi's crimes, Eric said, "Scum like that shouldn't be allowed to live. I did you a favor by cleaning up your internal rot. And instead of giving me a medal, you put a bounty on my head. That's messed up!"
"And I didn't kill any other Marines! Just knocked them out. Didn't touch a single civilian. You hate pirates because many are evil, right? But we haven't done anything wrong!"
"That doesn't change the fact that the law requires a trial," Smoker replied grimly. He didn't want to argue, but he knew he couldn't win a fight either.
"Are you stupid?" Eric said, looking at him like an idiot. "They were already attacking us! You expect us to stand there and take the hits? Are you stupid, or am I?"
Everyone said in unison, "You're stupid."
Eric : "?"
"Ara, asking something like 'Are you stupid or am I' makes you adorably dumb~"
Eric : "..."
"Fine. What about the report that you attacked Drum Kingdom's king?" Tashigi jumped in, seeing that Smoker had been verbally overwhelmed.
Eric glanced at the sharp and composed Tashigi, then activated his "mouth cannon" mode: "You probably don't know what that guy did in his own country, right? He kept only 20 doctors by his side, exiled all the others, turning a medical powerhouse into a place with barely any doctors. If you got sick, you had to beg Wapol for treatment. He made up insane laws based on his whims."
Tashigi tried to interject, "But he was still..."
"You were going to say he's still the king, right?" Eric interrupted bluntly. "Have you ever thought about how many people have become pirates because they were driven to desperation by tyrannical rulers?"
Smoker and Tashigi fell silent. As experienced Marines, they had indeed seen many cases like that.
"Now the seas are overrun with pirates. You probably blame it on Roger's last words before his execution. But even before Roger became Pirate King, the seas were already chaotic."
"This lawless age is, at least in part, the fault of the World Government—and all those greedy kings and brutal noble scumbags!" Eric 's speech sounded rebellious, but it was hard to argue with.
Still, Smoker and Tashigi were Marines. Their duty was to catch pirates.
The two exchanged glances, as if coming to a decision… and an understanding.
(END CHAPTER)
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