By the time Smoker launched his assault on the Big Mom Pirates, Finn had just entered the New World.
When Finn finally arrived at Stussy's base of operations, Maria's Happy Island, the entire New World was ablaze with news. Because Smoker was truly a man of action. In just two months, he'd seized three New World nations that flew the Big Mom Pirates' flag. Simultaneously, he'd coordinated with the Whitebeard Pirates to win two massive naval battles involving tens of thousands of combatants, sinking over one hundred and thirty of Charlotte Linlin's ships.
Finn was completely baffled. What the hell was going on?
How had Smoker ended up in bed with the Whitebeard Pirates?
At that moment, in Queen Stussy's mansion, Finn sat on the living room sofa. Anger simmered in his eyes as his gaze moved back and forth between Stussy and Smoker.
That's right. Smoker had also come to Maria's Happy Island to meet with Finn.
"What are you doing?" Finn's voice rose sharply. "Do you think the New World isn't chaotic enough? Do you really want to be a pirate?"
Smoker's expression turned somewhat resentful. He spoke in a low voice. "Hey, you were the one who told me to shout slogans back then..."
"What slogans?" Finn blinked, confused.
"I want to be the man who becomes Pirate King!" Smoker declared with complete seriousness.
Finn grabbed a pillow from the sofa and hurled it at Smoker's face. "Are you insane?"
"I was joking." Smoker caught the pillow, grinning awkwardly.
Finn ignored him and turned his glare on Stussy instead. "He's become stupid from playing pirate. Fine, he's mentally ill. But are you sick too? He asked you for intelligence, and you just gave it to him?"
"We're a cooperative unit..." Stussy's explanation came quietly, then she quickly added, "Before he requested the information, he didn't say he wanted to attack the Big Mom Pirates. I thought he was trying to avoid them while moving illicit goods or something. By the time I realized what was happening, they'd already started fighting. I couldn't just watch Big Mom's people kill Smoker, right? Of course I chose to support him."
She was his woman, after all. Finn scolded Stussy but didn't push further.
He withdrew his gaze and looked at Smoker again. "The moment I entered the New World, Fleet Admiral Kong contacted me like I was on death row, demanding to know what was happening. You're one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. You're affiliated with the Marines. You're my direct subordinate. How am I supposed to explain to the Fleet Admiral that you caused this mess? Thanks to you, they were originally just fighting amongst themselves. Now they might have an all-out decisive battle at once! We at Marine Headquarters expected them to fight for at least four or five years. Because of you, all our plans are in ruins. Tell me, how am I supposed to clean this up?"
"Big Mom touched our goods." Smoker's voice carried genuine grievance. "Seven billion berries. That was just the principal. It was the biggest deal I'd closed in the past six months. If I'd sold everything, I could've made at least three billion profit. In other words, that damned old woman swallowed ten billion berries worth of my goods in one go. If I didn't react, the Amway Group's reputation would be finished, Boss! You don't want to see that happen, do you?"
Originally, Finn had come to the New World to meet Dragon, retrieve the treasure hidden beneath the Red Line after the Mary Geoise raid, and deliver the Gold-Gold Fruit to Smoker. After that, he'd planned to be lazy and maybe even take a vacation with Hina and Gion.
He'd already been planning whether to go somewhere relaxing, bring both women along.
But within days of entering the New World, the entire region had descended into chaos. The war had escalated dramatically. The Whitebeard Pirates and the alliance of Big Mom and Kaido were all fighting each other with increasing intensity. And then there was Smoker, stirring the pot like a madman. It nearly made Finn cough blood in fury.
Yes, according to Marine Headquarters' plan, they'd been prepared to sit back and watch both sides bleed each other dry for at least four to five years. By then, the Marines would be ready for all-out war. They might even break free from the World Government's control entirely.
Once the Marines had resolved their internal conflicts and restructured completely, then they could fight however they wanted, right?
But Smoker's intervention had created a ripple effect, directly igniting the powder keg.
While Finn had been traveling here, Fleet Admiral Kong had contacted him multiple times, demanding he find a solution as quickly as possible.
Because according to the timeline, the agreed period of one and a half years was almost up. The Marines were at a critical juncture for leadership transition, waiting for Jinbe to arrange Fisher Tiger's staged "death" and for Kong to ascend to Commander-in-Chief at Mary Geoise.
But now that the New World had become like this, how could Kong possibly leave? How could he not be anxious?
However, after hearing Smoker's explanation, Finn's anger gradually subsided. It was true. Big Mom had been the one to start this. If Smoker really hadn't reacted, he'd have immediately lost his footing in the New World.
Because being a pirate wasn't much different from being a gangster. Whether you could maintain your position depended on prestige. Don't be fooled by Smoker's current glory. If Big Mom bullied him and he didn't dare respond, his reputation would be destroyed. How many of those bastard pirates under his command would remain loyal?
The moment he showed weakness, the Amway Group was such a massive prize. The New World was in constant warfare and everyone needed money. Just wait and see—it would be torn apart within minutes.
That outcome was unacceptable to both Finn and Marine Headquarters.
Therefore, Smoker's response had actually been correct. He'd just gone too far.
Or perhaps he hadn't anticipated that the Whitebeard Pirates would seize the opportunity and drag him completely into the conflict.
Now everyone was saying the Whitebeard Pirates had allied with White Hunter Smoker. With the Amway Group's financial backing, the Whitebeard Pirates' funds, which had been at a severe disadvantage, suddenly seemed much more abundant.
Whitebeard had been decisive enough. He knew Smoker would never truly side with him—after all, Smoker was one of the Seven Warlords.
But Whitebeard was under tremendous pressure. The combination of Kaido and Charlotte Linlin wasn't just one plus one. It was far greater than two.
He couldn't use a clean, swift method to directly eliminate Charlotte Linlin and Kaido. Judging from the forces under their command, there was no obvious advantage at the moment. The sides seemed evenly matched, trading blows back and forth.
But Newgate knew in his heart that the Whitebeard Pirates couldn't match the combined wealth of the Big Mom Pirates and Kaido. Big Mom controlled all of Totland with backing from Wano Country. Kaido also had extensive business in the underworld, especially arms dealing.
Now that war in the New World had intensified so dramatically, his arms business was booming. He wasn't short on funds—certainly more financially stable than the Whitebeard Pirates.
So if the war continued at this pace for four or five years, Newgate could already foresee he'd be the one in trouble.
Therefore, when Smoker made his move, Newgate had dragged him into the water without hesitation. It wasn't for the Amway Group's financial support. It was because he wanted to use Smoker's involvement to force the Big Mom and Kaido alliance into a decisive battle!
This was his chance to turn the tables.
And Smoker had indeed been outmaneuvered by the crafty old Whitebeard.
Now the entire New World believed he was joining forces with Whitebeard. Big Mom herself was concerned, thinking that after she'd robbed Smoker of over seven billion berries worth of goods, he'd turned against her in fury and sided with Whitebeard. That logic seemed sound enough, so she was also preparing for a decisive battle.
Because she knew perfectly well that the Whitebeard Pirates' weakness was funding. If Smoker compensated for Whitebeard's shortcoming and they continued this war of attrition, she'd definitely suffer losses. It might even lead to major defeat. So her mentality now matched Newgate's—she wanted to strike decisively before Smoker fully committed himself.
Finn calmed his anger and pointed at Smoker. "I'm telling you, Smoker, the Fleet Admiral is furious about this. If you can't come up with a solution, I'm in trouble. And if I'm in trouble, you bastard will have no good days ahead!"
Smoker smiled awkwardly, then said, "Boss, come to think of it, I do have some ideas and plans..."
Finn raised an eyebrow in surprise.
Had this guy actually improved?
In truth, he'd said those things to warn Smoker, to make sure he remembered so he wouldn't make an even bigger mistake next time. Finn hadn't actually expected Smoker to produce any real plan.
On the contrary, Finn had been thinking extensively during the journey here. He'd developed some vague ideas himself.
"Let's hear it." Finn picked up the teacup on the table and took a sip.
Smoker finally sat up straighter, expression turning serious. "Boss, according to our analysis, this war for supremacy between the old and new rulers in the New World seems evenly matched. The Big Mom Pirates and Beasts Pirates, appearing as challengers, have to determine a winner against the veteran top-tier pirate group, the Whitebeard Pirates. We believe that in the short term, they won't be able to decide the outcome. But if the battle lasts three to five years, the Whitebeard Pirates will definitely lose ground. By then, the entire New World will be dominated by Big Mom and Kaido. They're allies. Unlike Whitebeard, who no longer has major ambitions, if those two seize the throne, they'll definitely cause massive trouble. This is an outcome our Marines can't accept, right?"
After Smoker finished, he looked at Finn with confident expectation.
Finn asked with genuine surprise, "Why can't we accept it?"
Smoker blinked.
What?
Shouldn't this be the part where, after I analyze everything, you, the Admiral, are shocked? Where you realize the seriousness of the situation and quickly ask if I have any solutions?
Why are you so calm?
Can the Marines really accept such an outcome?
"Did you get something wrong, you idiot?" Finn's voice turned sharp. "Our Marines don't care which group of bastard pirates wins! The Marines only care about time. As long as they can fight for four or five years, we can finish our own business. We can resolve all our internal conflicts and problems. No matter who wins, they can't beat the Marines. When that time comes, I'll wipe them all out in one sweep. How could they have room to be arrogant? So we don't care about these things at all, understand?"
Smoker's expression shifted, embarrassment coloring his features. "I thought our Marines couldn't accept the fall of the Whitebeard Pirates, a pirate group that's relatively more stable and less inclined to cause trouble..."
In truth, Smoker's reasoning wasn't entirely wrong. At least compared to Big Mom and Kaido, two restless troublemakers, the Marines did prefer the Whitebeard Pirates—a group that wouldn't cause problems if you didn't provoke them.
If the Marines truly just needed time and weren't afraid of any pirate group at all, what Smoker had been thinking would actually be quite useful to the Marines.
However, he was merely an assigned Warlord after all. He didn't have access to the true strategic intentions of the Marine top brass. Finn hadn't told him these things. Or rather, he'd told Smoker to focus on his own Amway Group and Warlord duties, not to meddle in other affairs. But Finn still hadn't expected Smoker would escalate things to this extent.
Therefore, Smoker didn't understand the Marines' true strategic goals, which caused the current situation to spiral out of control.