Chapter 10 If you're offering, then of course I'm taking!
After they stopped discussing whether to join the navy, the two quickly started chatting about other topics.
But after a while, Smoker's transponder snail rang. He took it out of his pocket, glanced at it, then stood up and said apologetically, "Sorry, Bane, I. . . "
Seeing this, Ben offered to speak: "Sorry to interrupt your work, should I go out for a walk first? "
This is a naval base. Even though Smoker didn't suspect Bane, he didn't want him wandering around the base. So he waved his hand and said, "No, you rest here. I'll go out and take the call. "
Soon, Smoker left the room but did not go far. He paused at the corner of the hallway, stood by the window, and answered the transponder snail.
"Smoker? " The voice of Fleet Admiral Sengoku came from the transponder snail.
Hearing this familiar voice made Smoker feel a bit nostalgic, but he did not show it. He replied calmly, "It's me, Fleet Admiral."
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
On the top floor of the Fortress of Justice, in the Fleet Admiral's office, Sengoku sat at his desk. He was talking to the transponder while looking over the stacks of documents on the table.
When Sengoku heard Smoker's voice from the transponder snail, he too felt a bit nostalgic.
Smoker had been in the navy for many years. He was very talented and is a Logia fruit user. Logically, he shouldn't waste time in a place like the East Blue Sea.
In fact, Smoker used to be an important figure at headquarters. He trained under former Navy Admiral Blackarm Zephyr and is a close friend of the current Navy Admiral Kuzan. He also has strong connections with Navy leaders like Garp. He is a talented individual with both skills and relationships.
But Smoker is too stubborn. He can't stand any injustice. If he sees something unfair, he will step in. The political situation at Navy Headquarters is too intense. It can be said that it is too close to Mary Geoise, but too far from true justice.
There were many corrupt activities happening at headquarters, and Smoker couldn't accept it at all. As a result, his naval career has had many ups and downs. He got promoted many times for his good work, but soon got demoted for causing trouble. Within a few years, he became a well-known "problem child" in the navy and one of the most difficult characters to deal with.
Perhaps he wanted to let him calm down, or maybe he wanted to control Smoker's temper. Either way, Sengoku eventually moved Smoker from headquarters and sent him to Logue Town in the East Blue Sea to be the base commander.
At this point, Smoker became the only base commander in the East Blue Sea Navy who held a rank from headquarters.
Originally, Sengoku thought that after sending Smoker away, he wouldn't last long in loneliness. Then, Smoker would give in, and Sengoku could find a reason to bring him back to headquarters. After going through this experience, Smoker would likely understand many things and would be useful.
As it turned out, Smoker was very stubborn. After arriving in the East Blue Sea, he settled down and did not mention anything about returning to headquarters. He wasted his time in this small village. It wasn't until the Straw Hat crew set sail the next year that he decided to change and leave the East Blue Sea.
Later events showed that after Smoker left the East Blue Sea, he quickly got promoted and received a salary increase. In two years, he went from captain to Vice Admiral.
However, during his most promising time, he spent a long time in the East Blue Sea, matching wits with a group of local pirates. This made his strength not improve and actually decline significantly.
This is similar to Moria, who lives in the Devil's Triangle, and Crocodile, who hides in Alabasta and causes trouble.
So, even though Smoker became a Vice Admiral later, his performance in several battles was poor and his strength was disappointing.
Sengoku collected his thoughts and then said, "I just heard someone report that the man who killed the captain of the Whitebeard Pirates in the New World is in your Logue Town, right? "
"Yes," Smoker replied.
"Are you sure? " Sengoku asked again. Smoker thought for a moment and answered, "It should be accurate. He came to me to collect the bounty on Thatch. He looks like the person in the picture leaked by the Whitebeard Pirates, but he does not have the rumored space-related powers. Instead, he is a Logia Dark-Dark Fruit user. He said he also stole this ability from the Whitebeard Pirates. "
"Logia user? What do you think of him? Is he suitable to join the navy? " Fleet Admiral Sengoku asked again.
Smoker sighed and said, "His name is Bane, and he is a pirate hunter. I've already talked to him. He means well towards our navy, but he doesn't want to join us right now. He is 20 years old this year. He wants to see more of the sea, and maybe he will think about joining our navy in two years. "
"Really? That's really a pity," Sengoku said, sounding a bit disappointed.
As the Fleet Admiral of the Navy, Sengoku's regret was just a casual comment. If it weren't for the Whitebeard Pirates being involved, Sengoku would have ignored someone like Bane and wouldn't have asked him directly about joining the navy.
However, since Bane has good thoughts about the navy, might join in two years, and is confirmed to be a Logia ability user, Sengoku still sees him as someone worth recruiting. Plus, he has a record of killing Thatch.
After thinking for a moment, Sengoku continued, "Then let's show him more kindness from our navy. If he has any requests or needs, as long as they are reasonable, we can meet them. This will show him that our navy values him. It will also influence his decisions and reduce the chance of him turning to evil later. "
"Fleet Admiral is truly a wise leader. I understand," Smoker thought the same and agreed.
After finishing the talk about Bane, Sengoku hesitated briefly but quickly said to the transponder snail, "Headquarters is thinking about a new round of personnel changes lately. You are in the East Blue Sea too."
"Don't worry about me. I'm doing fine in the East Blue Sea," Smoker frowned and refused outright.
Sengoku felt a bit awkward. After a moment of silence, he asked again, "Is it really good? "
"It's really good. At least here, I can enforce my own justice," Smoker replied calmly.
"That's enough. " Seeing Smoker was still set in his ways, Sengoku ended the call and hung up the transponder snail.
After putting away the transponder snail, Smoker took a deep puff of his cigar and exhaled a thick cloud of smoke that obscured his face.
After a while, he calmed himself and left the window as if nothing had happened.
"Sorry to have kept you waiting. " When Smoker returned to Bane, he was carrying four suitcases, three large and one small.
Without waiting for Bane to respond, Smoker placed the suitcase on the table and said, "Here is your bounty, 362.2 million Berries. Do you want to count it? "
Seeing this, Bane laughed and said, "There's no need for that. I still trust the Navy. "
After he spoke, Bane reached out his hand and summoned some dark elements, which he used to absorb the suitcases on the table. Soon, the darkness engulfed the suitcases.
I must say that the Dark Fruit is really helpful for storing items.
Smoker did not seem surprised. He tapped the ash off his cigar and said to Bane, "In the meantime, based on your achievements, our navy is ready to give you all the help we can. If you need anything else, just let me know. "
Bane's eyes brightened when he heard this. If you are offering, then of course I'm taking!
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