Loguetown Anti-Corruption

Loguetown's geographical location is uniquely advantageous, serving as the bridgehead from East Blue to the Grand Line, and also as an isolated island on this long sea route.

Merchant travelers and pirates heading to the Grand Line cannot bypass this only supply point, naturally making Loguetown East Blue's natural transportation hub and trade center.

It is also the birthplace and place of death of the Pirate King Roger, and its celebrity effect has made it the most bustling tourist attraction in the East Blue.

At the same time, Loguetown is also an important military stronghold valued by the Marine government, with officers of Captain rank or higher from Marine Headquarters stationed here year-round, carrying out the important tasks of monitoring, suppressing, maintaining stability, and controlling the East Blue.

With a combination of economy, culture, and military, the prosperity of Loguetown cannot be described by the scale of a mere "town"; it would not be an exaggeration to call it a central city in the East Blue.

Against this backdrop, the sea routes around Loguetown can be described as a scene of a thousand sails racing and hundreds of boats competing, revealing a thriving scene everywhere.

The closer one gets to the coastline of Loguetown, the more sailing ships there are at sea.

When the docks of Loguetown vaguely appeared in sight, Garen and his party were surrounded by an endless expanse of white sails.

This scenery is different from the magnificent vastness of the sea, but it showcases humanity's unique creativity in another style, making it a feast for the eyes.

However...

Smoker stared at the surrounding ships with a gloomy expression, his sharp eyes fixed on the black flags fluttering in the wind:

"Those are all pirate ships, aren't they?!"

The situation in Loguetown greatly exceeded Smoker's expectations:

As an important military town with elite troops from Marine Headquarters stationed there, it not only lacked the sense of uprightness he had imagined, but was instead filled with pirate ships that made no attempt to conceal themselves.

What Smoker couldn't understand even more was—

The armed ship he was on was flying the Marine flag;

And the pirates, upon seeing this flag, showed no hostility and no signs of running away.

Obviously, these pirates were already accustomed to the Marine flag.

"What's going on?"

Smoker directly asked Wallace, who was beside him, knowing that this young reporter was a local of Loguetown.

"This..."

Wallace explained with a strange expression, "Loguetown has always been like this."

"What?"

The end of the cigar in Smoker's mouth suddenly brightened, and the smoke rings he exhaled were also much thicker:

"Isn't there always a Marine Headquarters officer stationed in Loguetown? How can these pirates be so arrogant?!"

"That's because..."

Wallace said seriously:

"The Marines stationed in Loguetown... have never been very clean."

"Not very clean?"

Garen couldn't help but ask:

"Didn't you recommend me to come to Loguetown to exchange bounties before?"

"That's because Loguetown is already the best choice compared to the others."

Wallace explained helplessly:

"Garen, you have always been in a high position, so you probably don't know much about the petty corruption at the bottom."

"Generally, when Pirate Hunters go to exchange large bounties, the Loguetown Marines will deduct about 30% of the currency as a 'loss'."

"Thirty percent? Doesn't that mean I'll get 3 million Beli less?"

Garen questioned in surprise:

"And this is called the best choice?!"

"Tch."

"Looks like you really are a noble who has never left the palace!"

It was Nami who spoke, using a slightly mocking tone to educate Garen:

"A 30% kickback is already the most conscientious price on the East Blue market."

"If you go to some Marine branch to exchange bounties, you might not get a single Beli and even get your life stolen by the local tyrant there!"

"Yes!"

Wallace added with emotion:

"At least the Loguetown Marines will do their job after taking the money, and they can also guarantee the safety of their 'customers'."

Smoker was already trembling, and faint wisps of white smoke began to emerge from his silver hair.

"Bastards!"

Smoker took a deep breath and finished the remaining half of his cigar in one go, then heavily threw the butt on the ground.

He looked at the pirate ships that were blatantly heading towards the Loguetown docks, and gritted his teeth as he said:

"So corruption is one thing, but are they not even arresting pirates anymore?"

"But..."

Tashigi also stepped forward, saying with some surprise:

"The current garrison commander of Loguetown is Commander Hammer, dispatched from Marine Headquarters."

"Before coming, I inquired a bit and heard that he has always had a reputation for effectively suppressing bandits and achieving excellent political achievements!"

"Of course, 'excellent political achievements'!"

Wallace smiled helplessly:

"The pirates who get arrested are all those who refuse to pay!"

"Using those who don't know what's good for them to embellish his achievements is enough for him to gain a reputation for successfully suppressing bandits."

Wallace gave another detailed explanation before Garen finally understood the great talent and strategy of Commander Hammer, the garrison commander of Loguetown:

He was guarding the gateway from the East Blue to the Grand Line, and then charging a toll from every pirate crew that wanted to enter the Grand Line.

Pirate crews who paid were considered brothers; not only could they sail freely without Marine interference, but they could also buy weapons, ammunition, sea charts, and other contraband from Commander Hammer's channels.

As for those pirates who refused to pay, they naturally became Commander Hammer's law enforcement achievements.

"A toll booth and service area for pirates?"

Garen couldn't help but admire the chief officer of the Loguetown base: "This guy is a genius!"

"Commander Hammer is indeed a very resourceful person..."

"To be honest, given his caution, it's unlikely that he would be so blatantly exposed as he is today."

Wallace also commented without holding back, and then said with some surprise:

"Logically speaking, he should have known about Captain Smoker's notification of his upcoming assignment and handover."

"I thought he had already cleaned up the traces, so I didn't tell you the real situation in Loguetown directly yesterday."

"No."

Smoker took a deep puff of his cigar and exhaled a thick cloud of smoke:

"Our original plan was to sail in reverse along the first half of the Grand Line from Marine Headquarters, and then reach the East Blue via Reverse Mountain."

"But since Vice Admiral Garp was returning to the East Blue, we hitched a ride on that Sea Stone Warship."

"We departed from Marine Headquarters, took advantage of a section of triangular whirlpool, and then directly crossed the Calm Belt to reach the East Blue, saving a lot of time."

Smoker then said in a deep voice:

"Which means..."

"The estimated date of arrival on the notice is twenty days from now."

"I see!"

A few gleams of excitement flashed in Wallace's eyes:

Commander Hammer's intelligence was inaccurate, so he hadn't had time to cover up his crimes, and today he just happened to run into Smoker, the righteous Marine who was taking over his post.

He could already smell a big story brewing.

"Heh."

Smoker snorted coldly and said to Tashigi:

"Tashigi!"

"I'll go take a look at the Marine base there myself first, you quickly bring the team and follow!"

"Huh?"

Tashigi was still a little slow to react.

"Where is the Loguetown base located?!"

Smoker asked Wallace with a cold face.

Before Wallace could reply, his body was enveloped in a cloud of white smoke:

"Forget it, just take me there directly!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Smoker transformed into a large cloud of smoke, sweeping Wallace into the sky and heading straight towards Loguetown.

"What a reckless thing to do!"

Tashigi muttered helplessly.

But as the highest-ranking officer in the team at the moment, the young Tashigi had no choice but to shoulder the task of commander and give orders to the Marines according to Smoker's instructions:

"Increase speed, land!"

"Everyone line up, organize your equipment, and prepare for battle!"

"Yes!"

The Marine soldiers responded in unison, their morale soaring.

Although few in number, these thirty were all elites from Marine Headquarters.

Just this one shout was enough to change Nami's impression of the Marines, a girl who had been mixing in East Blue society for many years.

With Marines like these, perhaps her hometown really could be saved.

A series of crisp cracking sounds like bones rubbing together rang out from the side. Nami turned her head to look:

She saw Garen also limbering up, his eyes full of fighting spirit.

"You... you're planning to help Smoker fight?"

Nami looked at the eager Garen with some surprise, and reminded him with concern:

"No matter how corrupt those guys are, they're still Marines! You can't make money fighting the Marines!"

"If you accidentally get labeled a pirate, you'll be in trouble!"

"Don't worry."

Garen replied with a relaxed expression:

"I'm here with the Captain from Headquarters to fight corruption, so there's definitely no danger."

"Besides..."

Garen thought for a moment about how much experience he still needed to reach level 5, and then righteously said:

"Those corrupt officials disregard the law, hold their positions without doing their jobs, and bend the law for personal gain. Who knows how many innocent people they've harmed in the past!"

"I, the Lone Ranger Garen, will act on behalf of Heaven today!"