One Piece - I Am A Different Luffy! BOOK1!

Chapter 69 - Negotiating with the Navy 01

[Chapter Size: 2646 Words.]
Third Person POV
Cocoyasi Village, East Blue.
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"Captain Smoker! We're approaching the island, and...!" A sailor entered the cabin, but he seemed nervous delivering this news, sweat trickling down his face.
"That's good, but what's got you so on edge, cadet?" Smoker asked, exhaling his cigar smoke coldly.
"Um... it's that the island is strange, Captain..." He said a bit hesitantly.
"Hm?! What do you mean by that?" Tashigi, who was accompanying Smoker, said beside him with a furrowed brow.
"I think it's better if you go out and see the state of the island for yourself..." He said, sounding lost.
Smoker rose from the chair in his office, and without wasting more time on questions, he left his cabin to see the island ahead.
At first, the place seemed normal, but the more Smoker paid attention, the more he could see the abnormality on that island.
"What's this? How was this done?" Tashigi couldn't believe her eyes.
"..." Even Smoker squinted.
"Remember that Marine ship stolen from Base 16? The one with a bunch of people in terrible conditions? They said they were fleeing from two monsters. I didn't believe it, but now seeing this..." One of the sailors commented on the side, with concern in his tone.
"I didn't believe it because they said they were slaves in Base 16, but now..." Another one commented.
There was devastation in a large part of the island, recently destroyed mountains, burned forests, and a large hole that started from the sea and cut almost halfway through the island like an immense trench that had been dug, but it was evident that it seemed to have been created with some kind of meteor, even the water was entering the island through this channel, and this had happened recently, as you could see the canal walls collapsing with the waves from time to time.
"I'm sure this island didn't have this landscape in the records," the naval cadet spoke beside Smoker, and Smoker could feel the tension in the air among his men.
'I'm not surprised by that statement; all of this seems to have been created recently. It's even frightening... I can't be sure what happened here, and I can't say I would have liked to have been here when it happened...' Smoker thought.
"Let's continue; we'll know our answers when we reach the island. We're hunting the pirate crew, Straw Hat, responsible for attacking Naval Base 153 stationed in Shell City and Base 16, near this island. We will bring justice to this pirate who has recently been causing chaos in East Blue!" He gave the order, and all who were hesitant raised their morale.
"Yes, for the justice of the navy!" They shouted in a joint chorus.
"But sir, Smoker, the famous bounty hunter Lami seems to be hunting the same target as us when she passed us in that small, strange, and fast boat!" A sailor suddenly raised the question, as Lami passed them in a small motorboat and accelerated in the same direction they were heading.

"Let's continue; if that bounty hunter couldn't capture the pirate, we'll get involved and finish the job," Smoker snorted, taking another puff of his cigar.
"Yes, sir!"
"I heard that woman carries a big sword. It disgusts me to see someone wield their weapon like that. If it's a high-grade sword, I'll try to take it from her!" Tashigi said beside him, but Smoker ignored her and watched the ship getting closer to the island.
"Captain! There's a Marine ship on the coast... or what's left of it..." Another sailor said with a magnifying glass, a little scared.
Smoker went to the ship's bow and looked with another magnifying glass.
"It was destroyed by cannon fire..." Smoker said, pondering which unit was here.
"I remember the remnants of the attack on Base 16 said their captain, Nezumi, was absent during the Straw Hat pirates' attack," Tashigi said beside him.
"Damn pirates, they'll pay for this." Smoker growled and continued waiting to reach the island.
"Hm?! Captain, there's a pirate ship on the other side of the coast!" Another man said, and Smoker looked at the large black warship a little farther away, but it was on a beach.
"That flag! It's them." The lieutenant said beside him, and Smoker gave the order for them to head in that direction. It didn't take long for the ship to turn and go to where the pirate boat was on another beach.
Without waiting any longer, Smoker turned into smoke and went straight to where that huge pirate ship was anchored, Lami's boat was parked next to it. He needed to see how the bounty hunter was dealing with the pirates.
Meanwhile, some time ago.
"Here, your berries. Are you sure you can't give us a discount?" Nami asked the bird.
"KYA KYA!" The bird refused, but it was afraid of the woman in front of it; she almost seemed to be threatening the animal, even though no one in the world would try to rob these messengers, even if they were the cruelest pirates and Yonkous, as that meant never receiving news from Morgan again, and no one wanted that.
"Nami! Stop threatening the poor thing and give him your money!" Nojiko appeared next to Nami and slapped her on the head, making her shrink.
"Sorry, here..." Nami said and took the newspaper.
When the bird flew away, Nami opened the newspaper with great surprise.
"LUFFY! LOOK AT THIS! THE NEWSPAPER IS TALKING ABOUT US." She immediately drew her captain's attention, who was on the beach with the others.
"Hm? Read it to me, Nami, and let everyone hear too." Luffy instructed, and the navigator began reading next to her sister.