While the Straw Hat Crew was dealing with the Koza Army and the Cobra Army in the square, Smoker was on a Den Den Mushi call with his good friend, Marine Admiral Aokiji.
"Ara la la," Aokiji said with mild curiosity, "What brings you to call me, Smoker, my brother?"
Holding the Den Den Mushi, Smoker explained, "You must've heard about what Crocodile did in the Alabasta Kingdom, right?"
Aokiji was silent for a moment before asking, "What are you trying to say?"
Smoker said angrily, "Aokiji, why do I feel like our Navy is nothing but a pawn for those bastards—just like that damn Sandy said! Don't tell me you were completely unaware of what happened here!"
How was Aokiji supposed to answer that?
At this time, several high-ranking Marine officials were sitting beside him. Although it wasn't a formal meeting, Fleet Admiral Sengoku, Garp, Vice Admiral Tsuru, and others were all present!
Seeing everyone staring at him, Aokiji could only respond calmly, "Smoker, I know what you're thinking. Just do what you believe is right."
Smoker said coldly, "I think the Shichibukai system is completely unreasonable and should've been abolished long ago."
After that, Smoker hung up the Den Den Mushi—leaving silence in Sengoku's office.
Sengoku broke it first. "Aokiji, I heard the Straw Hat Crew is also in Alabasta, right?"
"Hahaha…" Garp suddenly laughed. "Don't be so serious, everyone. Shall I treat you all to some senbei?"
Sengoku's face turned dark. "Garp, you bastard! Be serious—and stop using my senbei to treat people!"
Vice Admiral Tsuru interjected, "Garp, that young man from the Straw Hat Crew, Storm D. Sandy… you knew him before, didn't you?"
Garp's expression hardened. "Yeah. That kid probably refused to join the Navy because of how reckless some people in the higher-ups are. And now he's gone off to become a pirate."
"Ara la la," Aokiji sighed, "That's only part of it. Sandy hit a Celestial Dragon. If he'd joined the Navy…"
He didn't need to finish. Everyone already knew what would've happened. The Celestial Dragons would never forgive that.
"Oh, my, young people these days… they even dare hit Celestial Dragons. How terrifying," Kizaru said in his usual mocking tone.
Sengoku glanced around helplessly. "Listening to you, Aokiji… are you saying this Sandy fellow is harmless?"
Akainu scoffed, crossing his arms. "Pirates are pirates. These scumbags shouldn't even exist. What's harmless about them? We should just eliminate him now, especially since the Celestial Dragons are already hunting for him."
Garp fell silent. Not only was Sandy part of the Straw Hat Crew—but so was his own grandson. The thing he'd always feared was finally happening.
Of course, Sengoku knew about Luffy and Garp's relationship—you could tell from the surname alone.
He sighed. "Admiral Aokiji, contact Smoker again. Have him keep an eye on the Straw Hats. We'll decide what to do after observing them."
Shortly after Smoker hung up in Alubarna, he received another call from Aokiji.
To his surprise, Aokiji told him to test the Straw Hat Crew.
For a moment, Smoker didn't understand what was going on—but he had no choice but to obey.
Handing the Den Den Mushi to Tashigi, he ordered, "Tashigi, when we find the Straw Hats later, turn on the recording Den Den Mushi and broadcast the situation to Admiral Aokiji."
Tashigi nodded. "Seems like everyone's been caught off guard by this."
Smoker grunted. "A Shichibukai trying to take over a country is bad enough. The Straw Hats' true motives are still unclear. Admiral Aokiji probably wants to use us to…"
As Smoker and Tashigi talked, they finally spotted the Straw Hat Crew.
But what puzzled them was the sight along the way—tons of people lying unconscious on the ground… though many were still breathing.
"Don't tell me they got tired from fighting and decided to nap mid-battle?" Tashigi muttered.
Even weirder, three members of the Straw Hat Crew were fighting among themselves!
Smoker stepped forward, drew his Jitte, and shouted, "Sandy! Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro! Cook Sanji! Stop fighting and surrender now!"
Tashigi had already turned on the recording Den Den Mushi. Everyone in Sengoku's office could now see what was happening through her eyes.
The scene left them all dumbfounded.
Was the Straw Hat Crew… having an internal conflict?
Indeed—pirates being pirates. Must've been a fight over treasure or women, right?
Smoker, veins bulging, shouted again, "Pirates! Stop fighting!"
But Sandy and the others completely ignored him and kept brawling.
Finally, fed up, Smoker's face twitched as he charged in, Jitte swinging.
In an instant, the fight went from two… to three… to four people!
Aokiji looked at Sengoku awkwardly. "Well… you know Smoker's temper."
"Hahaha!" Garp roared with laughter. "That kid Sandy still hasn't changed! And damn, he's gotten way more handsome!"
Sengoku's eye twitched. "Shut up, you idiot Garp!"
Back at the square, after several minutes of chaotic fighting, Sandy and the others finally realized Smoker had joined in.
They all paused, panting, and exchanged looks.
Sandy grinned. "Honest Brother Smoker, you came at the perfect time! That bastard Crocodile's already been taken down. You should thank us—saved your Navy a whole lot of trouble."
Smoker glared in silence, but Sandy continued cheerfully, "No need to thank us! As kind-hearted pirates, we don't need rewards.
Just give us Crocodile's bounty instead! Come on, the Navy's not gonna back out on its word, right?"
Every Marine in Sengoku's office froze.
Kind-hearted pirates?
Pirates collecting bounties?
And Crocodile's bounty, no less?
If they actually paid that, the World Government's faces would be priceless.
Technically, the rules didn't say pirates couldn't collect bounties… but doing it now would be the ultimate slap to the Government's face.
At the square, Smoker's expression darkened.
This damned Sandy—why the hell would you say that out loud? Sengoku and the others are watching!
Fuming, Smoker raised his Jitte again. "Pirates! Tell me the truth—what's your purpose in coming to Alabasta!?"
Sandy blinked, then smirked.
Ah, another chance to show off! Everyone step aside—the flamboyant king is about to make his move!
The people who knew him best, including Smoker, could already sense it…
Sandy was definitely about to pull another over-the-top stunt.
…
Author's Note:
The fanfic One Piece: My Flirtatious System Adventure is first half completed.
The entire story has been uploaded on Patreon as a dedicated collection:
📚 One Piece (Chapters 1–362)
Carefully organized into multiple posts, with several chapters per post for smooth and easy binge reading.
🔗 patreon.com/Shadow_demon_007
Thank you all for your continuous support and love for this journey 💙