One Piece: Nobody knows Devil Fruits better than me.

Chapter 206 I always said smoking too many cigars is bad for your brain

In the beginning, there were four seas, the East Sea.

Rogue Town, the town of beginnings and endings.

Smoker, with a lethal dose of cigar dangling from his mouth as always, leaned against the wall with his arms crossed.

In front of him, a man was sitting in the chair that originally belonged to Smoker, summarizing the situation.

"Simply put, that's the situation."

"Ahem—hey you, put out your cigarette. Are you trying to murder your superior? By the way, what's with this office of yours? Where's your Coke? If you don't drink Coke, can you even be considered a navy officer?"

Smoker: "."

His fists were clenched so tightly that he almost bit off his cigar.

"call"

After letting out an epic, furious tirade, Smoker barely managed to suppress the urge to punch the guy in front of him and asked again, "I'll ask you one more time. Why are you in Roguetown?"

"Didn't I already say? That's the situation."

"You've only said one thing from beginning to end—'That's how it is.' Those six words don't explain anything, you bastard!"

"Colonel Ssmoker, please calm down. Lieutenant General Blackhorn is your superior; you cannot..."

The blue-haired female naval officer standing nearby quickly advised her superior.

"Tashigi, you idiot—this guy isn't a superior officer at all, he's just here to make fun of me!"

Smoker gritted his teeth.

"Eh!"

As soon as he said this, Roy clapped his hands: "That's true, I'm just here to make fun of you."

As soon as he finished speaking, Smoker, his veins bulging, began to try to pull out the Jitte behind him.

"White Fist - Sharp Ten Hands!"

As Tashigi cried out in surprise, the smoke dissipated.

So, after a period of chaos and confusion...

"Look at you, you're in a hurry."

Roy withdrew his fist and blew the ash off Black Mane: "Didn't you receive a notification from Marshal Sengoku?"

Smoker, his face bruised and swollen, had calmed down by now: "I did receive it. Fleet Admiral Sengoku said that you will be temporarily inspecting the Shikai Branch as a special vice admiral of the Navy, and you chose me first."

At this point, he gritted his teeth and said, "That's not what I'm asking you about—I'm asking you about what happened when you and Instructor Zephyr attacked the Seven Warlords of the Sea?"

As he asked the question, he also looked at Roy, who had been sitting motionless the whole time, with a complicated expression.

Yes.

The World Economic News Agency's reporting was as fast as ever.

This happened less than three days after what happened on Montblanc.

The brand-new supplement has already been sent to all over the world by seagulls that deliver newspapers.

The extra issue's content was simple—Edward Weevil and Bartholomew Kuma, who had recently been appointed as Shichibukai, had their Shichibukai status revoked.

This situation of constantly changing policies has naturally sparked another huge discussion on the sea.

Especially after the details of the matter were exposed, the discussion became even more heated.

According to a report by the World Economic News Agency, Edward Weebull was recently killed by former Admiral Blackhand Zephyr Zephyr on Montblanc Island in the North Sea, and there were also reports of the 'Black Loyalty' ship being spotted nearby.

The World Government did not directly respond to this information, only saying that "after review, the two were confirmed not to be qualified to become Shichibukai."

This statement naturally sparked another round of discussion in the sea.

Shortly after that, Smoker received a notification that Roy would be in charge of inspecting the Four Seas branch.

And as mentioned before, Smoker is not stupid.

So he almost immediately sensed the true meaning of the Warring States Marshal from the notice—he was temporarily transferring Roy away from headquarters and out of the public eye.

This further suggests that the news report is likely true.

"That's what it means."

At this moment, Roy readily admitted, "Edward Weevil is the pirate who attacked Professor Zephyr back then."

With just that one sentence, Smoker's expression changed instantly.

As one of Zephyr's former students, he naturally knew about the attack Zephyr had encountered four years ago.

so.
"That kind of guy was actually chosen as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea by the government?"

Smoker clenched his teeth instantly.

He immediately realized the background and consequences of the events reported in the newspaper.

Therefore, he, who already disliked the Seven Warlords system, was now even more furious.

But after a moment, he realized what was happening and quickly looked at Roy: "You've been exiled to the Four Seas, what about Instructor Zefa?"

"Who got sent away? I'm here on vacation, okay?"

Roy said with dissatisfaction.

However, seeing Smoker's somewhat worried expression, he didn't keep him in suspense any longer.

"Don't worry—the situation is better than I expected. Professor Zephyr is recuperating at headquarters because of his injuries. When Fleet Admiral Sengoku came to give me his transfer order, he punched me."

Speaking of this, Roy was quite puzzled.

To be honest, when I decided to stand up for Zephyr, and when I took action against Pierre Saint...

He had actually prepared for the worst—if all else failed, he had even planned to start a new navy with Zephyr.

Anyway, Roy figured that with his current strength, the Navy's resources weren't that necessary for him.

But as he said, the situation is better than he had anticipated, even in the best-case scenario.

The World Government acted as if they knew nothing about his attack on the Knight of God, completely ignoring the matter.

Even in the newspapers, the incident of Zephyr attacking the Seven Warlords of the Sea was only mentioned briefly.

In the end, he and Zephyr were not punished at all; Sengoku's exile of him was more of a protection than a punishment.

Of course, Roy had no intention of telling Smoker about the God Knights—for Smoker, knowing about their existence was not a good thing.

"After all, he's just a Shichibukai."

That's all he explained it to be.

"."

But Smoker was speechless after hearing this.

What do you mean by 'just a Shichibukai'?
That's one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea—a notorious pirate whose name is known throughout the entire ocean.

Smoker didn't consider himself weak, but his experience told him that with his current strength, he wouldn't stand a chance against any of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.

However, even though that's what I thought in my heart.

But Smoker glanced at Roy and then remained silent.

Because he suddenly realized.

His friend from the same period, standing before him, now truly had the right to say those words.

"The gap is getting wider and wider."

Smoker thought to himself.

Yes.

After his tentative exchange with Roy, he realized that Roy had become stronger again.

No, it's not just about getting stronger anymore.

If Smoker could at least understand where the opponent's strengths lay during the previous military exercises, then...

During that brief exchange, Smoker realized that he was completely unable to gauge Roy's strength.

The sight of the other person sitting there made Smoker feel as if he were facing a vast ocean.

His attack could hardly be called an attack in the eyes of his opponent.

The gap between them is widening, and now they are completely out of sight.

This reminded Smoker of what had happened in Loguetown not long ago, and the person he had met.

“Hey Roy.”

So at that moment, he said in a deep voice.

"Hmm?" Roy looked at Smoker with some confusion.

"I want to be transferred back to headquarters, or to a branch in the Grand Line."

Smoker said directly, "I've already told Tina. But I think it might be more convenient for you to ask."

"what?"

Upon hearing this, Roy raised an eyebrow: "You're asking someone who was just exiled to the Four Seas to transfer you back to headquarters? I told you that smoking too many cigars isn't good for your brain."

Smoker: "."

Who just said they were just here on vacation?
No, he still can't stand this guy!

But before Smoker could erupt again, Roy continued, "And you actually want to use your connections to transfer back to headquarters?"

"What happened?"

He asked this question aloud.

But Roy already had a guess in his heart.

“A month ago, I met a pirate in Loguetown.”

Upon hearing this, Smoker didn't hide anything: "You probably haven't heard of him. He's a rookie pirate called Straw Hat Boy."

As he spoke, he walked to a cabinet in the office and took out a reward notice.

Roy glanced at it and sure enough—the bounty poster featured a boy wearing a straw hat, smiling happily.

"."

And Roy had to admit it.

Although they look different, the guy on the bounty poster really does look very similar to Joey Boy in terms of temperament.

"He truly is a reincarnated lama!"

Roy muttered to himself.

At this moment, Smoker continued, "He's a very special guy and he seems to be connected to the revolutionary 'Dorag'."

At this point, Smoker clenched his fist.

He recalled that day not long ago.

The lightning strike on the execution platform, and the appearance of Dorag amidst the torrential rain and gale.

Just as mentioned before.

Smoker chose to be transferred to Loguetown precisely because he was unwilling to accept those constraints at headquarters and wanted to carry out his own justice.

His original idea was simple—he only needed to rely on his own strength to ensure that no pirate would travel from Loguetown to the Grand Line.

So no matter how much his superiors disliked him or thought he was antisocial, they still had to reward his achievements and promote his rank.

But Smoker realized this from both his encounter with Dragon a month ago and his meeting with Roy now.

If you want to uphold your own sense of justice.

His primary goal should be to become stronger as quickly as possible.

“My intuition tells me that he will shake the sea sooner or later—so I must arrest him myself.”

Smoker said firmly.

But it was precisely at this moment
"Hey! Smoker—don't be so arrogant! There's no way you could arrest Luffy-senpai!"

A voice suddenly came, followed by a series of struggling voices saying, "Hey! You better behave yourself!" and "Don't be rude to Colonel Smoker!"

So, Roy and Smoker turned their heads.

Then they saw—sometime earlier, two navy men were escorting a strangely dressed man, seemingly intending to take him into the office.

"I'm sorry, Colonel Smoker. We originally planned to hand this guy over to you for signature after capturing him, and then put him in jail. We didn't know you had guests!"

One of the marines said this at that moment.

"Bartolomeo—what has he done now?"

Upon seeing this guy, Smoker frowned slightly.

"Nothing major happened this time, just handing out flyers in town and within his gang's territory to promote Straw Hat Boy, which led to a fight with another gang."

Meanwhile, Smoker was talking to the Navy.

In fact, Roy had already heard the voice of the Fruit Encyclopedia.

The user of the fruit has been identified as 'Bartolomeo'.

[The fruit has been confirmed as the 'Paramecia-type Barrier-Barrier Fruit']

[Fruit Effect - Creates an indestructible barrier]

[Effects of Fruits at Different Levels]

[LV3: Gains all Devil Fruit abilities. Can create a physical barrier by crossing the fingers of both hands. The barrier itself is indestructible and can defend against almost all attacks, including shockwaves and energy. Requires 18 billion Berries to unlock.]

[LV4: Deep Fruit Development, allowing the user to shape barriers and use them as weapons. Once shaped, the barrier can be maintained by the user concentrating on it, but it will disappear once the user loses focus. Permanent unlocking requires 37 billion Berries.]

[LV5: Fruit Awakening - Infinite Barrier. The area of ​​the barrier can no longer be limited, and it can remain in existence as long as the user does not fall. It requires 101 billion Berries to unlock permanently.]

"This guy is Bartolomeo, the mob boss of Loguetown."

At that moment, Smoker casually offered an explanation.

As he said this, he also felt a bit of a headache.

Like him, Bartolomeo had also seen the straw-hatted boy not long ago, and witnessed the lightning strike on the execution platform.

From then on, he greatly admired the Straw Hat Boy.

Roy, however, was not surprised at all after hearing Smoker's words.

"Luffy has entered the Grand Line."

He only thought it to himself.

Yes, he could confirm from Smoker's words that Monkey D. Luffy had entered the Grand Line.

Having confirmed this, Roy's gaze then fell upon the green-haired, nose-ringed, and arrogant gang leader.

He certainly knew Bartolomeo, and in fact, many of the reasons he came to Loguetown this time were for Bartolomeo, in addition to visiting Smoker.

The main reason is the opponent's ability, the 'Barrier-Barrier Fruit,' which, in Roy's view, is also among the top-tier Devil Fruits—its 'absolute defense' is an essential piece of the puzzle for a certain clone ability in Roy's plan.

But Roy never expected that he would run into the other person so coincidentally so soon after arriving in Loguetown.

"How should I put it—the gears of fate really keep turning."

Luo Yi thought to himself.

And just as he was sighing in his heart.

"Hey, Smoker, tell my underlings not to send me Germa 66 storybooks while they're in jail this time—I have a new hobby: sending me posters and newspapers of Luffy-senpai."

"That's a reward, not a poster. Besides, why should I relay your message?"

Smoker then glared angrily at Bartolomeo.

"If you know what's good for you, shut up—otherwise you won't be leaving this cell for at least a year and a half, Bartolomeo!"

If Smoker hadn't known that killing Bartolomeo would cause a riot in Loguetown and the gangs in the more than 150 towns under his control, he would have already taken care of him.

After Bartolomeo was escorted away, Smoker exhaled a deep puff of smoke: "Where were we? Hmm? What's with that expression?"

As he asked the question, he turned to look at Roy.

Then he saw Royna's seemingly thoughtful expression.

"No, it's nothing."

Roy shook his head.

But in his mind, he was recalling the word Bartolomeo had just said.

'Derma66'.

A barely perceptible chill flickered in his eyes.

Yes.

Although he cares a lot about Luffy, he will inevitably start keeping an eye on Luffy's movements in the Grand Line.

But relatively speaking, there are things that are more important to him now.

"As expected, it's Germa."

　At least it's all fixed now.

　　Just a heads-up: I haven't been feeling well lately (I used to get dizzy in the afternoon, but these past two days I've only been clear-headed for about two hours after waking up, and then I feel groggy the rest of the time), so I might have to take another short day off tomorrow (I'll still update, but there will be fewer chapters, maybe only one or two).
　　
　
(End of this chapter)