CHAPTER 81: CHAPTER 81: THAT BASTARD DRACULE... HE DIDN’T EVEN TAKE ME SERIOUSLY...

East Sea, Loguetown.

Staring out at the sea where the ship had long since vanished from sight, Smoker stood silently at the port, two cigars clamped between his lips, lost in thought.

Nearby, Tashigi watched him with concern, unable to hold back her question. "Colonel Smoker, are you alright?"

"Hm?" Smoker turned his head, slightly surprised. "What could be wrong with me?"

Though the bandages wrapped around his body hadn’t been removed, his injuries had mostly healed. During the chase after that rookie pirate crew earlier, he’d only slightly aggravated them—nothing serious.

With that, he ignored Tashigi’s worried gaze and turned back to the sea, muttering to himself under his breath, "That bastard Dracule... he didn’t even take me seriously..."

That damned Revolutionary Army leader hadn’t just barged into his fight with Madman Will earlier. Just moments ago, he’d brazenly appeared behind Smoker again, stepping in to save that straw hat-wearing rookie pirate.

Furious and ready to confront him head-on, Smoker had been effortlessly brushed off when Dracule escaped with a gust of wind.

At the thought, Smoker’s expression darkened. "Am I really that weak in your eyes, Dracule?!"

He didn’t believe for a second that Dracule had left because he disliked fighting. After all, the man had already sought out Madman Will for a brawl.

Clearly, even as the leader of the Revolutionary Army, Dracule was still as battle-hungry as the rumors claimed.

Standing there for a long while, Smoker waited until his cigars were nearly burnt out before speaking abruptly. "Tashigi, arrange for a warship and gather the First Unit."

"The Second Unit’s Marines will stay and hold Loguetown."

"Yes, sir!" Tashigi saluted instinctively, then asked curiously, "Colonel Smoker, are we going after that straw hat pirate?"

"No."

Smoker lit another cigar, a glint flashing in his eyes. "I’m taking a team to the Grand Line to track down Madman Will!"

"Oh." Tashigi nodded blankly, then froze as the realization hit her. "Wait! We’re going after that guy?!"

"What’s the problem?" Smoker’s brows furrowed at her tone, his voice stern.

"Uh... n-no problem..." Tashigi stammered, waving her hands nervously.

Seeing she hadn’t quite grasped his intent, Smoker explained seriously, "Don’t overthink it. I just want to see what that arrogant bastard will do on the Grand Line."

As for that straw hat kid he’d easily pinned down, Smoker had no interest in chasing him. With that reckless personality, even if the kid made it to the Grand Line, he probably wouldn’t last long.

"Oh." Tashigi nodded, half-understanding, but then hesitated, her expression conflicted. "But, Colonel Smoker, if we just leave with a team like this, I’m worried about what Navy Headquarters will—"

"No need to worry," Smoker cut her off, his expression calm as he bit down on his cigar. "I’ll handle the higher-ups."

"Yes, sir!" Tashigi didn’t press further. She saluted again and immediately headed toward the Marine base.

Smoker stood rooted in place, gazing into the distance as if trying to see what lay beyond the sea. His mind drifted back to the words of the man who’d so easily defeated him.

"Uphold the justice in your heart, huh..."

Meanwhile, aboard the rapidly sailing Going Merry...

Luffy stuffed his face with Sanji’s cooking, laughing to himself. "That was a close one earlier!"

"That smoky guy was crazy strong. I almost didn’t get away."

Zoro, polishing his new sword nearby, couldn’t help but chime in. "That’s because you, idiot, heard some random passersby talking about something happening in the plaza and just had to go check it out."

"Hahahaha!" Luffy laughed carelessly. "They were all saying some big-shot pirate showed up in Loguetown before us and fought that smoky guy. The whole plaza got totally wrecked, so I just wanted to take a look!"

He grabbed another handful of food, his eyes gleaming with curiosity as he mumbled, "I wonder what kind of guy could destroy a plaza like that and beat that smoky guy so bad."

During his fight with the smoke-man, Luffy had clearly seen the bandages wrapped around him. The guy had obviously lost to that big-shot pirate who’d stormed Loguetown.

And yet, even in that state, he’d managed to overpower Luffy in just a few moves.

If some stranger hadn’t shown up to help, Luffy might not have escaped at all.

Hearing Luffy’s words, Kin’emon, who’d been quiet until now, suddenly looked up. He walked over, pulling a newspaper from his pocket. "Captain Luffy, the guy you’re talking about—I think it’s him."

"I picked this up while gathering intel in Loguetown. It’s today’s latest paper."

"Huh?!" Luffy swallowed his food in one gulp and eagerly grabbed the newspaper.

"Let me see too, Luffy!" Usopp leaned over, but as he read the contents, his forehead broke out in a cold sweat, his voice trembling with fear. "Tch... this guy was in Loguetown just before us?!"

"He’d only just left when we arrived."

Usopp let out a shaky breath, relief washing over him. "That was too close. We’re lucky we got delayed on the way, or we might’ve run into that monster!"

But Luffy didn’t share his relief. Instead, he looked disappointed. "Man, what a shame."

"If we’d just been a bit faster, we could’ve met him."

Letting Usopp take the newspaper, Luffy slammed his fists together, his tone brimming with excitement. "I wanna fight a guy like that! If I beat him, maybe I’ll get a bounty that high too!"

"What?!" Usopp nearly jumped out of his skin. "Don’t say such terrifying things, Luffy! With that guy’s bounty and the stuff he’s done, even all of us together wouldn’t stand a chance!"

"Tch." Luffy pouted, digging a finger in his nose.

Seeing this, Kin’emon spoke up earnestly. "Sure, that guy’s strong now, but I believe Captain Luffy will get even stronger someday."

"When we meet him on the Grand Line, we’ll have a real fight!"

"Yeah, yeah!" Luffy nodded enthusiastically, laughing as he slapped Kin’emon’s shoulder. "Hahaha, Kin’emon’s got it right!"

His expression turned serious as he raised a fist and shouted, "Let’s go! To the Grand Line!"

"Hell yeah!" The others, caught up in Luffy’s energy, raised their fists and shouted in unison.

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