Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
When Roy's warship docked at the harbor, it naturally drew a great deal of attention.
After all, the enormous Sea Beast corpse strapped behind the ship was… quite hard to miss.
"I'll go find Vice Admiral Bilos to make the mission report."
"Hans, take Squad Two and escort that guy to the prison—after Headquarters confirms his identity, send him to Impel Down along with the other detained criminals."
"Fal, take Squad One to the town and sell the Sea Beast meat. And book our usual place for the victory feast."
Roy issued the orders smoothly—clearly, this wasn't the first time he'd done this.
"Yes, sir!" x2
And the moment the words "victory feast" came out, the eyes of all the Detention Unit Marines lit up instantly.
Roy then disembarked the warship, ready to report to his superior.
But—
"Hey!"
He had barely stepped onto Oris Plaza of Marine Headquarters when a familiar voice hit his ears.
The sound made Roy mutter not good internally, and he immediately turned around to escape.
But before he could run, thick white smoke billowed around him from all directions.
"How's the thing I mentioned before? Have you thought it over yet?"
As the question sounded, a figure slowly solidified within the smoke.
Roy answered without hesitation: "It's not going well—Smoker, I'm not leaving the Detention Unit."
Yes. Smoker.
That iconic white hair, the coiled muscles, the constant cigars in his mouth and chest pocket, and the unique weapon Jitte on his back all made his identity unmistakable.
Marine Headquarters Lieutenant Commander.
Logia-type Smoke-Smoke Fruit user.
The "White Chase" Smoker.
"ROY AMOS!"
Hearing Roy's reply, Smoker bit down on his cigar and roared, "You bastard… don't joke with me!"
"Who's joking with you?" Roy glared at him.
Of course Roy knew what Smoker wanted.
In truth, Smoker was his fellow recruit—they had joined the Marines in the same year.
And naturally, with a Logia user right in front of him, Roy absolutely wasn't going to waste the chance to study his Devil Fruit.
Which was why, during their recruit training and apprenticeship missions, he and Smoker had become genuine friends.
But after training ended, their paths diverged completely.
Relying on his Logia Fruit and impressive strength, Smoker was naturally selected as a key elite trainee, even entering former Admiral "Black Arm" Zephyr's elite training camp.
Roy, on the other hand, decisively chose to join the Detention Unit.
As a result, even though they were the same batch, their military ranks now differed by two full grades.
And that difference was exactly why Smoker was here.
He was already a Lieutenant Commander. And according to Marine Headquarters rules—
Once an officer reaches the rank of Commander, they must choose one of two paths:
Either join the fleet of a Vice Admiral or even an Admiral,
or go to one of the Four Blues to serve as a commanding officer in a regional Marine branch.
The former was what most chose—it offered far faster promotion.
But Smoker, known throughout Headquarters as a hard-headed troublemaker, absolutely didn't want to serve under any Vice Admiral.
So he had already made his decision—
He would return to his hometown, Loguetown, to serve as the commanding officer of the branch there.
And that was why he had come looking for Roy today.
"I already told you—I need a deputy strong enough to rely on."
Smoker glared at Roy with a dark expression.
"And I already told you, I'm not going. Didn't I recommend Lieutenant Tashigi to you? She's a fine Marine."
Roy replied seriously.
Leave the Detention Unit?
Then who was going to provide him the Devil Fruit users he needed?
But the instant his words fell—
"BOOM!"
A massive whooshing sound tore through the air.
And then—
"Shff!"
Roy's figure instantly vanished from where he stood, just as Smoker's Jitte smashed violently into the ground.
"Crack crack crack!"
The pristine white tiles of Oris Plaza shattered under Smoker's tremendous strength, forming a huge fracture.
Nearby Marines who were simply passing through jumped in shock.
"What's happening!?"
"An attack!?"
Some even reflexively cocked their flintlock rifles.
But then, they saw something that shocked them even more.
Smoker, after adding yet another repair bill to Marineford's plaza, didn't stop for even a moment.
"White Punch!"
He growled, and countless smoke-formed fists blasted out from his body, pummeling toward Roy!
"Hey hey hey! Smoker—what the hell are you doing!? Are you insane!?"
Yet within the storm of punching smoke fists, Roy's body twisted, dodged, and weaved with impossible agility.
Not a single one of Smoker's attacks managed to touch him.
[Rabbit-Rabbit Fruit: Snow Rabbit Form LV1 — Equipped
Grants partial characteristics of a snow rabbit. Enhances all physical parameters, with extra boosts to hearing and speed.]
[Mouse-Mouse Fruit: Gray Mouse Form LV1 — Equipped
Grants partial characteristics of a gray mouse. Enhances all physical parameters, with extra boosts to reflexes.]
But Smoker completely ignored him.
"White Blow!"
As the smoke fists continued hammering forward, Smoker's lower body dissolved into smoke, propelling his upper body in an instant right up to Roy.
His Jitte rose high—then came crashing down again.
"You're actually serious?!"
Roy yelped in surprise, then raised his hand.
The abilities within his Fruit Encyclopedia switched once more.
[Ox-Ox Fruit: Giant Rhino Form LV1]
[Strong-Strong Fruit LV1]
The same power that had sent a massive Sea Beast flying surged through Roy's body again.
He thrust out his arm and caught Smoker's Jitte head-on.
"BOOM!"
The shockwave shattered the ground beneath Roy's feet.
But even under such raw force, Roy's body didn't budge an inch.
Roy only looked at Smoker and said in a low voice,
"If you keep this up, I really won't hold back."
"Bring it on!"
Smoker growled, and his arm once again turned into white smoke, lunging toward Roy.
Seeing this, Roy gritted his teeth.
"You bastard!"
This time, he didn't hold back either. One hand continued gripping Smoker's Jitte, while his other hand opened into a palm strike.
In that moment, the Fruit Encyclopedia switched abilities yet again.
[Human-Human Fruit: Model Buddha, LV1 — Enhances all physical attributes and allows the release of minor shockwaves from the hands.]
Golden shockwaves burst from Roy's palm.
"BOOM!"
A deep trench split open across the ground, and the smoke form of Smoker was instantly blasted apart and sent flying.
He didn't reappear as his human form until he hit the ground far away.
Nearby Marines were practically blown off their feet by the shockwave.
Some who had no idea what was happening instinctively raised their weapons, thinking it was an attack.
But when they saw the two figures in the center of the battlefield were both wearing Marine uniforms, their expressions all turned into stunned disbelief.
"So strong… like monsters… who are these two!?"
"I know the white-haired one—tthat's 'White Chase' Smoker!"
"The guy who ate a Logia Fruit—the notorious rabid dog of Headquarters who refuses to follow orders?"
"Who's the other guy!? He can fight him evenly!?"
"He must be from the Elite Forces!?"
The Marines whispered amongst themselves.
Strong people always draw attention—no matter where they are.
And even in Marine Headquarters, battles at this level were rare for ordinary Marines to witness.
But right now, Smoker paid no attention to the murmurs around him.
Still biting his cigar, his face remained dark.
"Your physical durability… and your 'Hadouken'… you've gotten stronger again!"
That's right.
Among all of Marine Headquarters, Smoker was arguably the one who understood Roy the most—at least, he believed so.
He'd long known how terrifying Roy's natural talent was—in speed, strength, and reflexes.
In fact, if he hadn't personally seen Roy swimming in the ocean, he would have suspected Roy was a Devil Fruit user.
He had also witnessed Roy's so-called "Hadouken Technique."
According to Roy, it was a technique that "uses the invisible vibration of air as the fist swings to generate shockwaves."
Smoker had tried to learn it many times in private, but he never understood how Roy pulled it off.
But that didn't matter.
There were many strange people in this vast sea.
He'd even heard rumors that someone in the Revolutionary Army could shatter boulders by throwing seductive looks.
What mattered to Smoker was this:
He could not understand Roy's choices.
Many Marines believed that those who volunteered for the Detention Unit were cowards unwilling to face danger.
But Smoker knew Roy wasn't one of them.
"Do you remember that little girl from Kishira Village?"
He growled through the cigar.
"To get back the money she needed to treat her mother, you chased those pirates with me across an entire sea—
You cut your way through a pirate-infested town and personally dragged them out in chains!"
"I've seen your justice with my own eyes, Roy.
So tell me—what the hell are you thinking!?"
"With a power like yours, why won't you go to the frontlines and make your mark?
Why hide yourself away in the Detention Unit as a measly Lieutenant?"
He roared.
But in the face of Smoker's questioning, Roy remained calm.
"Justice?"
He pulled a flask from his sleeve and took several hearty gulps.
He looked bold and carefree…
But judging from the black, fizzy liquid spilling from the flask, it was obviously cola he was drinking.
Then Roy grinned.
"What you saw wasn't my 'justice,' Smoker—that was just basic human decency."
"Besides, I'm not an ambitious guy. I think the Detention Unit suits me just fine!"
Hearing this, Smoker's rage surged even higher.
"You bastard…"
White smoke billowed wildly from his arm—he was clearly about to attack again.
If words couldn't get through, he'd use his fists. That was the kind of man he was!
But just then—
"Smoker."
A sudden voice made Smoker freeze.
"Oh!"
"Who's that beauty?"
"That's Lieutenant Tashigi—no, wait—Lieutenant Commander 'Black Cage' Hina!"
Excited whispers spread among the Marines, and many of them had hearts practically popping out of their eyes.
From the crowd emerged a tall, shapely woman in a Marine uniform, with soft pink hair.
"I come back from a mission and immediately find you causing trouble again. Hina is very disappointed."
With a thin cigarette between her lips, she looked helplessly at Smoker.
"Your last disciplinary penalty hasn't even been cleared yet, has it!?"
As Smoker's friend—and the one who routinely cleaned up after his messes—she clearly had plenty to complain about.
Smoker's aura deflated by a third, but he still stubbornly forced himself to say,
"Hmph! This time it's not my fault. It's this bastard—"
He quickly shifted the blame away from himself, turning his head to get Hina to scold that unmotivated good-for-nothing.
But the moment he turned around—
The spot where Roy had been standing…
…was completely empty.
"That bastard ran off again!"
Realizing Roy had fled, the veins on Smoker's forehead bulged as he clenched his fists.
But before he could give chase, a ring of black iron bars snapped shut around him.
Behind him, Hina's voice carried a dangerous edge:
"Trying to run? Explain yourself—what madness were you causing this time?
If you don't… Hina will get angry."
Smoker's expression finally turned panicked.