In a certain sea area of the East Blue, three marine Warships were slowly sailing, escorting an incredibly luxurious giant cruise ship.
The sails of the Warships on either side each bore different base numbers, but only the white sail of the Warship in the middle displayed a scale-holding seagull emblem, indicating that it came from the Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
On the deck at the bow, Smoker chewed on two cigars, letting the thick smoke shroud his face.
He leaned against the cold railing, staring at the cruise ship ahead, which was partying all night and constantly emitting decadent sounds, and sighed softly.
"What is it? After so many days, you still can't let it go?"
A cold voice laced with mockery came from behind him.
Smoker turned his head slowly to see a tall figure wearing a Justice cloak walking toward him with long strides.
The man's long, pitch-black hair hung down like the legs of a spider, and combined with his fierce and cold face, he radiated an aura that warned others to stay away.
"Mr. Onigumo."
Smoker raised his hand in a lackluster, non-standard military salute, then turned back around, leaning on the railing and taking a deep drag of his cigar.
Onigumo walked up to his side, also puffing on a cigarette, followed Smoker's gaze toward the cruise ship, and let out a cold snort.
Smoke puffed out from between Smoker's teeth, carrying an irrepressible anger as he spoke to himself:
"If you're talking about watching those World Nobles hold extravagant banquets on the ship every day and treating us marines like servants to be ordered around…"
His voice paused as he recalled what he had witnessed over the past few days, a wave of nausea rising in his throat.
"Watching them wantonly abuse slaves they consider property, and even shooting civilians on a whim… while we, like a group of dutiful Guard dogs, waste precious time and manpower to escort them the whole way… then yes, I am very unhappy, extremely unhappy!"
Images flashed through Smoker's mind.
Just a few days ago, he had witnessed with his own eyes how this group of World Nobles, this group of Celestial Dragons who claimed to be gods, threw their weight around.
A mere ten-year-old child was shot and killed without hesitation by that Celestial Dragon simply because they accidentally blocked his view of the seascape.
What made him even more furious was that when the cruise ship was sailing, a small fishing boat that had clearly already steered out of the way was ordered to be crushed by the cruise ship simply because it appeared in that person's field of vision.
He still remembered that fat, bloated pig riding on a Guard kneeling on the ground, waving his arms and shouting excitedly.
"Faster! Faster! Ram into it for me, Saint! Wahahaha!"
When he could no longer hold back and was about to rush over to save them, he was personally stopped by Onigumo. Those cold eyes and that unquestionable aura prevented him from taking that step.
It made him watch helplessly as the fishermen on that small boat waved their hands in panic, desperately trying to row away, only to be hit mercilessly in the end, crushing their vessel.
"You're nearly thirty years old, why are you still so naive?"
Onigumo sneered and blew a smoke ring.
"Saint Charlimako is a Celestial Dragon, a descendant of the creators of this world, a World Noble! Do you think that's an existence you can afford to offend?"
Onigumo grinned, revealing a mouthful of stark white teeth. He leaned closer to Smoker and said in a lecturing tone:
"Remember this, Smoker. I saved your life and the lives of those brats under your command that day. You should be thanking me."
He stood up straight, looking down at Smoker, his words full of reprimand.
"It is precisely because of your headstrong, insubordinate personality that you are still just a mere Colonel! Justice needs order to be maintained, and the World Government is the creator of that order! Absolute obedience is the duty of the marines!"
Smoker remained silent, only biting down harder on the cigar in his mouth.
He could not refute it, because what Onigumo said was the truth. There was only one outcome for defying the Celestial Dragons, and that was death, which would even implicate his subordinates.
But was this so-called justice really what he wanted to protect?
Onigumo seemed to find lecturing boring as well, and changing the subject, he coldly announced:
"Stop making that deadpan face. Saint Charlimako has a new idea; he wants to go to Loguetown to take a look."
Loguetown?
Smoker's body gave an imperceptible shudder.
...
Meanwhile, in Loguetown.
After Lorne stepped into the port of Loguetown, he adjusted his clothes and produced a plain hooded cloak from somewhere, draping it over himself.
He pulled the hood down to cover most of his face and strolled along the bustling streets.
He didn't want to get into any trouble in a town heavily guarded by the marines right after finishing a fight with a marine hero.
Lorne's goal was clear now: to be an ordinary tourist, satisfy his little curiosity as a transmigrator, and then safely enter the Grand Line.
As the hometown of the pirate king, Gol D. Roger, and the place where his legend began and ended, Loguetown's fame was almost unparalleled throughout the entire East Blue.
It was here that Roger had dragged the entire world into the whirlpool known as the "Great Pirate Era" with his dying words.
This man's influence was still profoundly changing the world's landscape to this day, causing countless hopeful pirates to set sail from the four seas in pursuit of the treasure left behind by that man.
Therefore, the scale of the town's development was naturally not small; shops lined both sides of the streets, and people came and went, making it exceptionally bustling.
However, Lorne keenly sensed that beneath this prosperity, there seemed to be an unusual, tense atmosphere lurking.
The number of marine soldiers patrolling the streets was noticeably higher, and each one looked solemn with sharp eyes, occasionally scanning the passersby as if searching for something, or perhaps guarding against something.
Especially in the area near the port.
"It seems some big shot is coming."
Lorne muttered to himself, but didn't pay much attention to it.
After all, this place's reputation alone was enough to make it the focus of the whole world. Pirates wanting to pay homage to the pirate king visited from time to time, so increased marine vigilance was understandable.
Lorne looked into the distance; even from several streets away, he could see the execution platform standing tall in the center of the Loguetown plaza near the port docks.
He then started wandering aimlessly through the streets of Loguetown, focusing on going with the flow, and besides, the execution platform definitely had to be saved for last!
It was still early, and the plaza was crowded with tourists who had come to visit and check in. The execution platform was clearly a location under stricter marine surveillance, and it would be troublesome if he accidentally caused a commotion by going there.
------------------------
There are already 70+ chapters available on my Patreon!
The story will continue to update 1 chapter per day on Webnovel,
while early access chapters are posted on Patreon.
Maybe it's not worth it today but it could be later
[email protected]/Kazenova223
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"