Starting as a pirate, he rose to become the strongest Shinigami in Soul Society.

If you're going to talk about this in Chapter 10, then I'm not sleepy anymore!

After the topic of joining the navy was dropped, the two quickly moved on to other matters.

A moment later, Smoker's Den Den Mushi rang. He took it out of his pocket, glanced at it, and then stood up apologetically, saying, "Sorry, Bane, I..."

Seeing this, Bane took the initiative to speak up, "I'm sorry to have disturbed your work. Shall I go out for a walk?"

This is a naval base. Although he didn't suspect Bane of anything, Smoker didn't want Bane to run around in the naval base, so he waved his hand and said, "No need, you rest here for a bit, I'm going out to answer a Den Den Mushi."

Soon, Smoker walked out of the room, but didn't go far. He stopped at the corner of the hallway, stood by the window, and answered the Den Den Mushi.

"Smoker?" came the voice of Fleet Admiral Sengoku from the Den Den Mushi.

Hearing that long-lost voice, Smoker felt a slight pang of nostalgia, but he didn't show it. He replied calmly, "It's me, Marshal."

Marineford, Naval Headquarters.

At the very top of the Fortress of Justice, in the Marshal's office, Sengoku was sitting at his desk, talking to a Den Den Mushi while reviewing the mountain of documents piled up on his desk.

Sengoku looked somewhat nostalgic as he listened to Smoker's voice coming through the Den Den Mushi.

Smoker has been a member of the Navy for many years. He is very talented and also possesses Logia-type abilities. Logically speaking, he shouldn't be wasting his time in a place like the East Blue.

In fact, Smoker was once a prominent figure in the Marine Headquarters. He was a student of former Marine Admiral Black Arm Zephyr, a close friend of current Marine Admiral Kuzan, and also had a very close relationship with Marine bigwigs such as Garp. He was the kind of outstanding talent who had both qualifications and connections.

But this guy's personality is too strong; he can't tolerate the slightest injustice. If he sees any injustice, he has to step in and do something about it. And the political nature of the Marine Headquarters is too strong; you could say it's too close to Mary Geoise, but too far from justice.

There were many dirty tricks in the headquarters, which Smoker couldn't stand. As a result, his career in the Navy was full of ups and downs. He was promoted many times for his merits, but was quickly demoted for causing trouble. In just a few years, he became a well-known "problem child" in the Navy Headquarters, one of the most troublesome figures.

Perhaps to give him time to reflect, or perhaps to temper Smoker's temperament, Sengoku ultimately transferred Smoker away from headquarters and sent him to Loguetown in the East Blue to become the base commander.

Thus, Smoker became the only base commander in the East China Sea Navy to hold the rank of headquarters commander.

Sengoku originally thought that after Smoker was sent down, it wouldn't be long before Smoker couldn't stand the loneliness here. At that time, he would soften his stance and find another excuse to transfer Smoker back to headquarters. After experiencing all this, Smoker should have understood many things and then he would be of great use.

As it turned out, Smoker was really stubborn. After arriving in the East Blue, he simply settled down here and didn't mention returning to headquarters at all. He wasted his time in this fishing pond beginner village until the Straw Hats set sail next year. Only then did he make up his mind to change himself and leave the East Blue.

As it turned out, Smoker's promotions and salary increases after leaving the East Sea were like a rocket; in just two years, he went directly from colonel to lieutenant general.

However, because he stayed in the East China Sea for a long time during his best development period, fighting wits and courage with a group of rural pirates, his strength not only did not increase, but actually declined significantly.

This is similar to Moria, who stays in the Devil's Triangle, and Crocodile, who hides in Alabasta and stirs up trouble.

Therefore, although Smoker was later promoted to lieutenant general, his record in several battles was very embarrassing, and his performance was not satisfactory.

Sengoku calmed his thoughts before speaking, "I just heard that the person who killed the Whitebeard Pirates' captain in the New World has appeared in your Loguetown, is that right?"

"Yes," Smoker replied.

"Are you sure?" Sengoku asked again.

Smoker thought for a moment before replying, "There shouldn't be any problem. He came here to collect the bounty on Thatch. His appearance matches the portraits of the Whitebeard Pirates that have been leaked. However, he is not the rumored user of a space-related ability, but rather a Logia-type Dark-Dark Fruit user. According to him, he also stole this ability from the Whitebeard Pirates."

"A Logia type? What do you think of him? Is he suitable to be recruited into our navy?" Fleet Admiral Sengoku asked again.

Smoker sighed and said, "His name is Bane, and he's a pirate hunter. I've already spoken with him about his intentions. He's generally friendly towards our Navy, but he doesn't plan to join us right now. He's only twenty years old, and he said he wants to see more of the sea. Maybe he'll consider joining our Navy in a couple of years."

"Is that so? That's a real shame," Sengoku said, slightly disappointed.

Of course, as the Fleet Admiral of the Navy, Sengoku's expression of regret was just a casual remark. If it weren't for the fact that this matter involved the Whitebeard Pirates, Sengoku would never have noticed a nobody like Bane, let alone personally asked him if he was willing to join the Navy.

However, considering that the guy named Bane still had goodwill towards the Navy and might join in a couple of years, and that Smoker confirmed he was a Logia-type Devil Fruit user, plus his achievement of killing Thatch, Sengoku still considered Bane a talent worth recruiting.

Therefore, after considering it for a while, Sengoku continued, "Then let's show him more goodwill from our navy. If he has any requests or needs, as long as they are not excessive, we can satisfy him. This way, he will know that our navy values ​​him. In this way, we can subtly influence his judgment and decisions from the side, and reduce the possibility of him becoming corrupt and doing evil in the future as much as possible."

"Marshal, you truly are a wise strategist. I understand now." Smoker thought it over and agreed.

After finishing discussing Bane, Sengoku hesitated for a moment, but quickly continued into the Den Den Mushi, "Headquarters is also considering a new round of personnel changes, and you're in the East Blue too..."

"Don't worry about me, I'm doing fine in the East China Sea." Smoker frowned upon hearing this and refused outright.

Sengoku was somewhat embarrassed by this guy's retort. After a moment of silence, he asked again, "Is it really that good?"

Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!

"That's really good. At least here, I can uphold my own sense of justice," Smoker replied calmly.

"That's settled then." Sengoku saw that he was still unmoved and hung up the Den Den Mushi without saying anything more.

After putting away the Den Den Mushi, Smoker took a deep drag on his cigar, exhaling a thick cloud of smoke that obscured his face.

A short while later, he composed himself and left the window as if nothing had happened.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." When Smoker returned to Bane's side, he was carrying four suitcases, three large and one small.

Before Bane could speak, Smoker placed the suitcase on the table and said, "This is your bounty: 362.2 million Berries. Would you like to check it?"

Seeing this, Bane laughed and said, "No need, I still have great faith in the Navy's credibility."

As soon as he finished speaking, Bane reached out and drew up a wisp of dark element, imbuing the briefcases on the table with darkness. Soon, the darkness swallowed the briefcases whole.

It has to be said that the Dark Fruit is really convenient for selling products.

Smoker showed no surprise at this, tapped the ash from his cigar, and said to Bane, "In view of your merits, our Navy is willing to provide you with assistance to the best of our ability. If you need anything else, please let me know."

Bane's eyes lit up when he heard this. "If you're going to talk about this, then I'm not sleepy anymore!"

(End of this chapter)