Bring the Ship Alongside!

Ma Qiao knew that although Garp and Smoker acted recklessly, they were not the cruel, volatile men the outside world made them out to be, so Ma Qiao wanted to watch the fun.

The other Marines, however, did not see it that way.

Good news rarely traveled far, but bad news spread for a thousand miles.

Garp at least had his good reputation as a Marine hero to balance things out. Smoker, on the other hand, was thoroughly infamous.

Among the Marine Branches on the Grand Line, his reputation was on the same level as that of the rogue Marines at the G-5 Branch.

"Officer Twitch, shouldn't we steer clear?"

Qiangsen suggested cautiously, "Smoker is a reckless troublemaker..."

However...

"Bring the ship alongside!"

Twitch stood on Garen's back, waving Doran's little dagger and radiating domineering confidence.

Qiangsen was shocked and hurriedly reminded Twitch, "B-but Lord Twitch, that's Vice Admiral Garp and Captain Smoker over there..."

"Who the hell do you think I am?! Bring the ship alongside!"

Twitch jumped down, grabbed Qiangsen by the collar, and tried to throw Qiangsen over a shoulder, but couldn't budge Qiangsen.

The atmosphere turned awkward for a moment.

Fortunately, Garen reached out to steady them both and said in a deep voice, "Bring the ship alongside. This is what Mr. Ma Qiao wants..."

"Damn it, I let that guy get away again!"

Aboard the Dog-Head Warship, Smoker slammed his fist against the mast in anger.

He had let that guy escape time and again. Even Smoker, who was cold on the outside but warm within and upright by nature, could not help taking his frustration out on others.

"What's with those two little boats? Can't they understand the signal flags? They're in the damn way. If they hadn't suddenly appeared, maybe... Vice Admiral Garp? Vice Admiral Garp?"

Smoker turned around to see that Vice Admiral Garp, wearing his dog-head hood, had long since fallen asleep against the mast, a bubble puffing in and out of his nose.

"Vice Admiral Garp!"

Smoker shook his unreliable superior hard by the shoulders. "Wake up! Ace got away again!"

"Oh? Oh?"

Garp rubbed his eyes and stretched sleepily. "Oh dear~ Ace, huh? That boy got away again?"

"Isn't that all your fault?!"

Smoker held his forehead, feeling utterly helpless.

He admitted that Portgas D. Ace, the East Blue's strongest rookie of mysterious origins, was indeed a difficult opponent.

But this time, he had invited Vice Admiral Garp, who was home visiting family, to join the operation!

Smoker had grown up hearing stories about the Marine hero. He held Garp in great respect and trusted him more than most.

This was the legendary powerhouse who had spent his life contending with Pirate King Roger!

At first, Smoker had felt incredibly lucky.

Merely hoping for a chance to speak to his idol, he had invited Vice Admiral Garp, whose ship had docked at Loguetown for supplies, to join him in hunting down Portgas D. Ace.

Smoker had never really dared hope that Vice Admiral Garp would agree.

Yet Garp's answer had given him a huge surprise.

"Ace? Sure! Let this old man meet him with his iron fists!"

Vice Admiral Garp flashed eight teeth and thumped his chest in assurance.

At first, things had indeed gone as Smoker expected.

Vice Admiral Garp had unleashed the legendary "Fist Bone Meteor," throwing cannonballs by hand that easily smashed the pirate ships they encountered along the way.

At the time, Smoker had held the old hero and senior in considerable respect. He had not only reined in his own arrogant, reckless behavior, but also ordered all his subordinates to obey Vice Admiral Garp. Eager to learn, he had busied himself assisting the vice admiral.

But what happened next gradually left Smoker speechless, and then increasingly agitated.

Forget respecting his elder—if Smoker could beat him, he would have wanted to step up and trade blows with the muddleheaded old man.

While pursuing Ace, Garp had used "Fist Bone Meteor," but his aim had completely deserted him, and his shots had traced the outline of Ace's hull the whole way...

Then, on the final shot, the old man, who had never known what it was to catch a cold, had inexplicably sneezed.

His old hand had jerked, sending the cannonball wildly off course.

The cannonball, which should have hit Ace's little dinghy, had veered a full forty-five degrees and struck the White Hunter, the captain's flagship, as it closed in from the flank.

The White Hunter's side had sprung a leak, forcing it to return to base for repairs.

Smoker himself had also been forced to come aboard Garp's large Dog-Head Warship.

Then, just as they were about to catch Ace, the vice admiral had fallen asleep at the most critical moment.

If Smoker had not known about Vice Admiral Garp's outstanding contributions to the Marines over the decades, he would almost have thought the man was deliberately holding back.

"Yare yare, what a headache! Since he's escaped, we'll just have to try again next time..."

Garp suddenly pointed into the distance. "Huh? What's with those two little boats? Are they warships from your Loguetown branch? I'm enough to catch a mere Ace on my own. Tell them to go back."

"Hm?"

Smoker frowned.

"What's going on? Didn't they move aside as the signal flags instructed?

And hanging pirates from their bow—that's cruel... Those East Blue branch guys really are reckless!"

Smoker called it cruel, but his face showed approval.

That's how pirates should be dealt with!

He had even used pirates as fishing bait before!

"This is outrageous!"

At that moment, a young woman holding a long sword (as pictured) pushed up the glasses on her nose and said seriously, "They're privately lynching pirates without any legal proceedings. Which branch are those Marines from? Captain Smoker, you must speak to them!"

Smoker took a deep drag on his cigar and helplessly covered his forehead.

His subordinate was good in every respect except that she was too serious and inflexible. He couldn't be bothered with this sort of nonsense.

Garp, meanwhile, stuffed handfuls of rice crackers into his mouth as he raised a telescope for a closer look.

When he saw the distinctive rat-head figurehead through the telescope, the old rascal Garp, who had been drowsy for most of the day, immediately perked up.

Weren't those the young people Momonga had mentioned over the phone?

Teasing my grandson is fun, of course, but teasing Momonga's nephew seems pretty interesting too!

Garp threw an arm around Smoker's shoulders, his powerful grip nearly squeezing the breath out of him.

Paying that no mind, Garp urged him on. "White-smoke brat, this young lady has a point. Hanging people from the bow is far too reckless. Go deal with them!"

"Cough, cough, cough... Vice Admiral Garp!"

Smoker finally broke free and coughed for a while. Then he jumped up, grabbed both ears of Garp's dog-head hood, and shook them hard, veins throbbing at his temples. "We're chasing Ace! Ace! The guy who claims he's going to defeat Whitebeard and become the World's Strongest!

Where do we have time to get into a dispute with the local Marines?!

Come to think of it, have you been slacking off?!"

"Yare yare, is it that obvious?"

Garp nonchalantly picked his nostril with his little finger. "Anyway, hurry up and deal with those local Marines who don't follow the rules.

In all my life, the people I've hated most are those who don't follow the rules!"

"You're the biggest rule-breaker in the Marines!"

Smoker gave Garp's dog ears another round of hard tugs.

"All right, all right, stop wasting time!"

Garp shook his head, grabbed a handful of rice crackers, and stuffed them into his mouth. "Hurry up and deal with them, and then I'll definitely get serious about catching Ace. Super serious! I swear on my rice crackers!"

"Fine. I hope you mean it!"

Smoker shook his head. He could only choose to trust the old hero.

After all, Garp had smashed his ship.

What else could he do?

With that, Smoker turned into a stream of white smoke and flew toward the Great Guy Twitch as it came alongside.