One Piece Gunslinger

Li Ang naturally wouldn't let it go. He was determined to give Smoker a verbal sparring session. Even if he couldn't leave a substantial impression on Smoker, he wanted to plant a seed in his mind for future rebellion.

“Colonel Smoker, it’s an honor to receive your invitation,” Leon said slowly. “But please allow me to ask a small question: why do you want me to join the Navy?”

Upon hearing this, Smoker replied matter-of-factly, "Of course it's for justice. If someone like you can fight for justice, then we can eliminate even more pirates."

"Oh?" Li Ang raised an eyebrow and asked, "Then what do you think of my strength? How much of a gap is there between me and you, and how much of a gap is there between me and the three admirals in the navy?"

Smoker didn't know why Leon would ask such a question, so he could only answer: "To be honest, no matter how good your marksmanship is, it's useless if your bullets are ineffective against me. But if it were the other way around, if you had Seastone bullets, then I might not be your match either. But if we're talking about three generals, then I don't know how big the gap is, because there's really no comparison. Each general is a world-destroying force."

Indeed, if Li Ang didn't use Seastone, he would have no chance against Smoker, but if he used Seastone to dodge bullets, Smoker would be taken down with a single sniper shot.

However, Li Ang was well aware of the strength of the Admiral. Fujitora's powerful Haki and Devil Fruit ability left Li Ang helpless.

Even if he were to launch a sneak attack from behind, Fujitora would easily detect it with his Observation Haki and quickly deflect the bullet with his sword. And within Fujitora's perception range, no matter where he hid, a single heavy pressure would render Li Ang immobile.

Li Ang had reason to believe that the other generals were no weaker than Fujitora, and he had no chance at all. Smoker was absolutely right.

Li Ang nodded and said, "Very good. Now, let me ask you, since Roger died, have there been more or fewer pirates in the world?"

Smoker, puzzled, replied, "Is that even a question? Roger's dying words sparked the Great Pirate Era, and of course, the number of pirates in the world is increasing."

Watching Smoker walk step by step into the trap, Li Ang smiled and said, "So, the current three admirals of the Navy only appeared after Roger's death, and the Navy has gradually expanded its scale and recruited more soldiers since then. But why can't the three world-destroying admirals or the countless Navy soldiers stop the growth of pirates?"

“This…” Smoker frowned as he faced Li Ang’s question.

Are there many navies? Yes, there are naval bases all over the world. Even in the Grand Line, where pirate power is the greatest, the Marineford Naval Headquarters has been established. The New World has not given up either, with several branches constantly on guard against the Four Emperors and some great pirates.

But while there are many navies, there are even more pirates. If we say that navies have bases all over the world, then conversely, isn't every naval base also serving to attract more pirates to the local area? What truly exists worldwide is pirates, not navies.

So, is the navy strong? Absolutely! Outrageously strong. Their ships are sturdy and their cannons powerful; pirate ships are a level or two weaker than theirs. Their personnel are also highly trained; even ordinary marines are far superior to ragtag rabble. Furthermore, vice admirals and captains possess high-level combat power, making them absolutely fearsome.

However, while the Navy is strong, the pirates are even stronger. The three Navy Admirals, along with the Fleet Admiral and the aging Garp, are all inferior to the Four Emperors. And the officers under the Four Emperors are also stronger than the Vice Admirals.

The Four Emperors' rise to power over the seas is not without reason. To alleviate the pressure, the World Government created the Seven Warlords system as a check and balance, using barbarians to control barbarians.

The reason why pirates are often seen as weak is because they operate independently and are essentially a disorganized group, making them incomparable to the Navy. Otherwise, if the Navy were truly stronger than the pirates, they would have wiped them out long ago.

Yes, the Navy may look glamorous, but it's actually all bark and no bite, lacking real strength. Not to mention, there are a lot of corrupt officials within the Navy, like Captain Rat, who not only doesn't fight pirates but also works for them.

The Navy's upper echelons are not a monolithic entity. There are serious ideological conflicts among the three admirals. Not to mention, they are sometimes constrained and interfered with by the World Government, so they have great strength but can't use it at all.

This is actually a very simple principle. Any normal person can understand it with just a little thought. The Navy has the advantage in some areas, but compared to the pirates as a whole, they are at a disadvantage.

As a naval admiral, Smoker naturally hadn't considered such a thing, assuming that the navy was inherently powerful. However, this time, Leon's words shattered his belief in the navy's supreme strength.

Very good, the first step has been achieved. Now Li Ang is ready to move on to the second step.

To be honest, all soldiers like Smoker, or those who have just joined the Navy with high hopes, are subtly influenced by these three concepts. The impact of these three concepts is so great that they can even make people forget to think.

First, supreme power; second, justice; and third, order.

Because of their superior strength, the navy soldiers gained confidence, enabling them to charge forward and chase down pirates when facing them, instead of the navy fleeing in disarray and being chased and beaten by the pirates.

Strength is always the source of confidence in war. In this chaotic era, in a world where the gap in individual strength is vast, strength is always the most important thing. Only with strength can you talk about anything else.

Because of justice, one firmly believes that what one is doing is right, or that what one will do in the future is right, and that one is fighting for the world. Therefore, this sense of justice is often correct.

With this belief, the Navy will not hesitate or be soft-hearted. When they see pirates, they will not agonize over whether or not they should fire, nor will they think about what will happen to a ship full of pirates after they have been blasted into the sea. Pirates are vicious, and they should be eliminated.

However, this kind of justice is sometimes not entirely correct; it's just that most people don't see it. In the original story, Smoker only saw this by chance when he met the protagonist, discovering that Luffy and his crew were not evil pirates, and that the Navy's actions were not entirely righteous.

Third, the Navy is fundamentally flawed because of the very order they uphold—the order of the World Government, the order of the Celestial Dragons. However, many Navy members, caught up in the situation, fail to see the truth and blame everything on the pirates. In reality, pirates are merely products of this ugly order themselves. As long as this order remains unbroken and a new one is established, pirates will never be completely eradicated.

However, in order to maintain this order, the Navy was even able to initiate a Buster Call, falsely accuse Ohara of a crime, and erase Ohara from the map, which shows how profound the influence of this order is and how it has been completely integrated into the Navy's very being.

The navy is like a tree without roots or water without a source. Everything is built on a false order, which will inevitably lead to tragedy. It will inevitably collapse like a castle in the air, along with the world government, amidst the anger of the people.

In the original work, Admiral Aokiji probably saw this point and realized that the order maintained by the Navy was not what he wanted, which is why he eventually left the Navy.

Therefore, to shake the conviction of a navy, to undermine its members, one must start from these three aspects. As long as the hoe is good, no corner is too difficult to dig down.

Chapter 188 Digging More Holes

"I admit that the Navy's strength is indeed somewhat lacking right now, which is why pirates are so rampant in the world. But this also proves that we need more people to join our Navy to fight against the pirates in this world together."

After exchanging a few words with Leon, Smoker realized that Leon was a man of great insight and wisdom. He then took Leon to his office at the base, dismissed the others, and spoke with Leon alone.

However, even after Li Ang's guidance made him realize that the Navy wasn't as powerful as he had imagined, he still refused to give up recruiting Li Ang, and instead became even more determined. The pirates haven't been eliminated yet; we need more Navy personnel.

Faced with Smoker's words, Leon, sitting opposite him, secretly shook his head. Smoker, after all, didn't understand that whether it was the Navy or pirates, they were ultimately products of this distorted order. This order, which shouldn't exist, was the lifeblood of pirates. As long as this order existed, pirates could never be eliminated, and there would always be people rising up in resistance under oppression.

However, these people lack the education of the revolutionaries, who know who the enemy is, what to do, and what not to do. In the end, they can only become despicable pirates. Apart from those born outlaws, who doesn't want a peaceful life? Who would deliberately go out to sea to commit evil deeds for no reason?

Initially, oppressed by their superiors, villager A of village A could no longer survive and rose up in rebellion, becoming pirate A. Then they raided village B. This caused villager B to also become unable to survive, so B either joined A's group or, after A left, established their own pirate group, becoming the new pirate B.

If B hadn't raided the village, but instead robbed a wealthy person or nobleman, that nobleman would have increased taxes, squeezing the losses out of the villagers of village C. Then villager C wouldn't be able to survive and would have gone to sea to become pirate C.

This vicious cycle continues, and no matter how many pirates plunder the poorest people, in the end it's always the villagers who suffer. The result, naturally, is even more pirates.

This cycle will continue until a new, rational order replaces the old one. Or, before the new order begins to reward itself, it will enter an apocalyptic order, a world of survival of the fittest, a jungle law.

This cycle, this understanding of the essence of the world, was known to almost everyone in the revolutionary army. It was all written in Li Ang's book, "Carry the Revolution Through to the End."

Compared to the Navy's "justice," the Revolutionary Army's ideology was more righteous. Revolutionary Army soldiers not only knew that they were fighting for justice, but also knew what justice was and how to fight for justice.

The superiority or inferiority of their guiding ideologies is immediately apparent.

However, just because everyone in the Revolutionary Army knows this doesn't mean that Captain Smoker does. In fact, no one in the Navy seems to understand this issue; they're only focused on killing the endless pirates and don't bother to investigate why there are so many pirates in the first place.

However, this was a complex issue that Li Ang couldn't explain to Smoker in just a few words. Even if Li Ang could explain it to Smoker, Smoker would definitely get angry with him. As the saying goes, "the onlooker sees more of the game than the player," and Smoker would most likely think that Li Ang was spouting nonsense, defiling the sacred justice in his heart.

You have to eat one bite at a time, and you have to dig one corner at a time. Everything takes time and patience; you can't rush it.

So instead of directly stating the truth, Li Ang said to Smoker, "You say that by joining the Navy, I can contribute to justice, but how can you be sure that I haven't contributed to justice even when I'm not in the Navy? Even if I don't join the Navy, I can still fight pirates and uphold justice by traveling the world."

Smoker shook his head and said, "Even if you can eliminate some small pirates on your journey around the world, your strength alone is still too limited. If you encounter a powerful pirate, you will need the strength of everyone to come together."

"Oh? So you mean that a group of people contributes more than me traveling the world alone? Is that what you mean?" Li Ang said with a smile.

“Of course,” Smoker said matter-of-factly.

That's obviously obvious; everyone on Earth knows that there's strength in numbers.

However, Leon used this well-known truth to dig another pit for Smoker.

"Then can you tell me how many pirates you and your navy have captured in Loguetown these past few days?" After asking this question, Leon was about to use a deceptive tactic.

"Uh, well, not a single one." Smoker was now in a dilemma. If it were just these past few days, Smoker really hadn't caught any pirates. Because as long as small-time pirates didn't have wanted posters or bounties, and they came to Loguetown lowered their pirate flags and disguised themselves as merchants, they were really hard to catch. They might walk right under your nose and you wouldn't even know they were pirates.

As for those idiots who know there are marines here but still dare to arrogantly declare themselves pirates, they are almost extinct as Smoker's fame has risen.

Just two days ago, the Buggy Pirates dared to brazenly appear in Loguetown, but because Captain Buggy's Chop-Chop Fruit was incredibly powerful, and the crew had incredible luck, they managed to escape. So, in the past few days, Smoker hasn't captured a single pirate.

"Then guess how many pirates I've taken down these past few days?" Li Ang continued to ask.

"How many."

"I wiped out an entire pirate crew, at least a dozen pirates. It happened in that village of Cocoyasi, you know?" Leon said proudly.

Up to this point, Li Ang had successfully subtly shifted the concept. More people, more power; more power equals higher efficiency. This is undeniable.

However, short-term efficiency does not equal long-term efficiency. Just because Leon killed more pirates than Smoker does not mean that Leon's efficiency will always exceed that of Smoker and this group of marines in the long run.

Such a simple, flawed substitution of concepts would be easily noticed by anyone with a normal IQ. But Li Ang's final addition, "It's in Cocoyasi Village, you know?" immediately lowered Smoker's IQ.

Rather than lowering the price, it was more like taking advantage of the situation to divert Smoker's attention, preventing him from realizing that Leon was using sophistry.

Smoker exclaimed incredulously, "This is impossible! There have never been any pirates near Cocoyasi Village. And even if there were, Captain Rat would be in charge of that area. Captain Rat has two warships and hundreds of marines under his command. Some small pirates are easily dealt with."

By subtly shifting the focus and changing the subject, Li Ang had implicitly acknowledged the efficiency issue that was originally being discussed, thus creating an opportunity for him to ultimately refuse Smoker's invitation and slip away.

Secondly, this is also a pivotal move. After undermining Smoker's confidence in the Navy's strength in the first step, it finally allows them to take the second step, making Smoker doubt whether the Navy is still just.

Li Ang laughed loudly: "You mean Colonel Rat? Heh, the Arlong Pirates were able to rule Cocoyasi Village for several years entirely thanks to Colonel Rat's help."

"Impossible!" Smoker roared. "Are you saying the Navy would collude with pirates? That's impossible."

“Nothing is impossible for Smoker. Although this might be a little hard for you to accept, that’s just how things are. If you don’t believe me, you can go and see for yourself and ask the locals,” Li Ang said with a smile.

“I don’t believe it, I’m leaving right now.” With that, Smoker prepared to push open the door and leave.

In the past, if Smoker had heard Leon say such things, he would have already pinned him to the ground and arrested the person who spread these fallacies. Just as Leon said, these things were too difficult for Smoker, who had always upheld justice, to accept.

However, Leon's first step had already laid the groundwork, impacting Smoker's worldview to some extent. Therefore, the second step wouldn't be so difficult to accept.

Nevertheless, Smoker became excited and, disregarding everything else, insisted on seeing it for himself.

"Wait." Li Ang, seeing Smoker rushing out without any preparation, quickly stood up and grabbed Smoker's wrist. Of course, Li Ang missed, and the wrist passed right through Smoker's body.

However, Li Ang's action successfully stopped Smoker.

“If you go out like this, it’s no wonder you won’t see the truth,” Li Ang quickly explained. “Since Colonel Rat has been able to keep it a secret for several years, he must have some underhanded methods. If he finds out you’re going, he’ll definitely make excuses to stop you, like saying this is my jurisdiction, or asking if you should trust an outsider or me, and so on. That way, even if you eventually manage to get to Cocoyasi Village, he’ll have already made time to disguise himself, and the villagers there will probably be threatened again.”

When Li Ang mentioned this, Smoker remembered that he had previously patrolled the seas with the US and Europe, but whenever he approached Colonel Rat's territory, he would come out and chat with Smoker for a few words. Now he realized that this was to prevent him from going in, because every time Colonel Rat said there was nothing unusual and that he had already patrolled the area, Smoker wouldn't think much of it and would turn around and head to other places.

After all, that was the jurisdiction of other colonels, and he had no reason to force his way in.

"Then what do you suggest we do?" Smoker asked in a deep voice.

“Of course, it’s all about disguising yourself,” Li Ang said, spreading his hands. “As long as you change out of these clothes, put on a cloak, and take off these cigars, no one will recognize you.”

Hey, these have all become Smoker's trademarks. Everyone remembers these characteristics, so it's easy to overlook what he actually looks like.

"And you? Are you coming with me?"

Chapter 189 Deceiving the Naive

It's obvious that Li Ang will absolutely not go with Smoker. This trip will not only expose the scoundrel Colonel Rat, but also reveal that Li Ang is not only a skilled marksman, but also a master of hand-to-hand combat.

So, all that effort to escape would instantly backfire and create an awkward situation. Therefore, it's best to let Smoker go alone, and then have Leon slip away before Smoker returns.

"No, I won't go with you. You can go alone and not alert anyone else."

This isn't without basis; strictly speaking, Smoker's Devil Fruit ability is indeed particularly advantageous for infiltration operations. Especially things like gaps in doors and windows, ventilation ducts—they seem tailor-made for him.

“And what about you?” Smoker remained unmoved and continued.

“We’re in Rogge Town, ready to head to our next stop,” Li Ang said matter-of-factly.

Given the preceding setup, it was clear that Leon wouldn't become a pirate. Therefore, Smoker wasn't too opposed to Leon's departure, only saying with some reluctance, "So soon? Aren't you going to stay a little longer?"

"No need. I've basically achieved my goal of coming to Loguetown. There's nothing for my sister to miss."

They visited a famous tourist attraction, and even saw the place where Roger took his final bow before the execution platform was struck down by Long Yidao's lightning.