Executed On the Spot

"Brother!"

Lieutenant Charles forced out an ugly, ingratiating smile as he spoke to the "Great Pirate" beside him:

"The Marine Headquarters guys are right here; as a pirate, you can't avoid being targeted by them."

He was utterly devoid of the arrogance he'd displayed when facing the weak East Blue pirates, and he immediately started talking about mutually beneficial cooperation.

Smoker didn't reply, only slowly casting a complex gaze that others couldn't decipher at Commander Hammer not far away.

Commander Hammer also sized up the helper Charles had invited:

The villainous brute was eight feet tall, with strong bones and powerful muscles. He had hawk-like sharp eyes between his brows, short silver hair as stiff as an iron brush, a ferocious face like a hungry tiger, two large, burning cigars in his mouth, and a long, dark-blue iron Jitte in his hand. He truly looked like a fierce and malevolent great pirate!

"Good!"

Commander Hammer was overjoyed and immediately tried to win over this "Great Pirate":

"This brother!"

"Help me kill that wicked brat, and I'll give you any reward you want!"

Smoker still didn't speak, only silently raising the solid, heavy Jitte in his hand, looking as if he was about to lend a hand.

Standing next to him, Charles relaxed and turned his attention to Garen, who was confronting Hammer, putting on an act of working together to defeat the rebellious villain.

Bang!

A righteous bludgeon struck Charles squarely on the head.

Before Lieutenant Charles could react to who had ambushed him from behind, he collapsed to the ground, half-dead, from the heavy, blunt strike of Smoker's Jitte.

"You?!"

Commander Hammer looked at Smoker with fear and uncertainty, his expression quite interesting.

Garen, on the other hand, looked relaxed, casually stuck his greatsword into the ground, and struck a pose of watching a good show while silently recovering his health on the side.

"You've really shown me..."

Smoker finally broke the silence, saying in a deep voice, "You trash!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a cloud of smoke billowed from Smoker's body.

His tall, burly body instantly turned into a swirling cloud of white smoke, which danced in the air and pounced on Commander Hammer.

Hammer had been fighting Garen for a long time and was already at the end of his rope.

Facing Smoker's full-force attack, Hammer had no power to resist. In just one exchange, his hands and feet were bound by the smoke that Smoker had transformed into.

Smoker then condensed the upper half of his body from the smoke, and finally used the Jitte to firmly lock Hammer's neck, ruthlessly pressing Hammer's head into the ground.

"You..."

Completely pinned down, Hammer gritted his teeth and said with resentment, "You're Smoker!"

"That's right."

Smoker said with a cold expression, "I am the Smoker you wanted to kill!"

"Damn it! Damn it all!"

Commander Hammer struggled to adjust his difficult face-scrubbing-the-floor posture, and resentfully lamented:

"If only I had a few more days, I could have retreated safely!"

"Still thinking about retreating safely?"

Smoker spat out a large cloud of smoke and said with a cold expression, "You're dead today!"

With that, Smoker completely returned to his human form, then stepped on Commander Hammer's back, pinning him firmly to the ground, and slowly raised the heavy Jitte.

"Wait!"

Commander Hammer calmed down and said with considerable composure, "You can't kill me!"

Smoker's hand paused.

"I've already been captured by you; you can't kill me!"

Hammer, pinned to the ground, said with some difficulty:

"I'm a Marine officer; if I've committed a crime, I should be judged by the Marine court-martial!"

"You have no right to sentence me to death!"

Perhaps it's because Impel Down has too much food that they can't finish, and they need to throw a few more good-for-nothings in there...

In this world, pirates who are caught by the Marines aren't necessarily killed outright;

For corrupt officers within the ranks, the Marines have another set of procedures to handle them.

Without clear orders from the Marine superiors and the World Government, there aren't many people in the Marines besides Akainu who have the habit of executing captured criminals on the spot. The few iron-blooded generals are even labeled as "cold-blooded killers."

Hammer's voice became increasingly shrill and high-pitched, almost shouting at Smoker with all his might:

"Smoker!"

"If you claim to be righteous, then don't violate the Marine regulations!"

Smoker's expression darkened considerably, the Jitte clutched tightly in his hand trembled slightly.

Silence reigned.

After a moment, Smoker slowly loosened his grip on his weapon.

His other hand transformed into several serpentine wisps of smoke, tightly binding Commander Hammer, who was pinned to the ground.

Enveloped in the white smoke, Commander Hammer actually wore a relieved expression.

He knew his life was spared, at least for now.

"Smoker! You're really not going to kill this guy?!"

Garen approached, Greatsword in hand, a look of astonishment on his face.

He had been waiting nearby, Greatsword at the ready, prepared to deliver the finishing blow, steal the kill, and earn experience.

But Smoker had stayed his hand...

Smoker took a drag of his cigarette, looking dejected, and said with some difficulty:

"It's the Marines' rule."

"Corrupt internal personnel, once captured, must be sent to Marine Headquarters's military court for trial and sentencing."

Garen was silent, casting a frustrated glance at Commander Hammer, who was bound by Smoker.

The man seemed to have received a get-out-of-jail-free card and was no longer afraid of death.

Smoker saw Garen's dissatisfaction, and he himself was also very dissatisfied.

This dissatisfaction made Smoker extremely irritable and suppressed.

But as a Marine Headquarters officer, Smoker could only force himself to believe in the Marines' justice.

So, Smoker said in a deep voice:

"Don't worry!"

"With this guy's crime of murdering a superior officer, he'll definitely get the death penalty in a military court!"

Garen's expression remained sullen; after all, he wanted not only righteous judgment but also righteous experience points.

He still didn't lower the Greatsword in his hand.

"Hahaha..."

A slightly mocking laugh rang out in Garen and Smoker's ears; the voice belonged to Commander Hammer, who had been utterly defeated.

"How laughable!"

Hammer laughed hysterically, tears almost welling up in the corners of his eyes from the unrestrained mirth:

"You're already a Captain, and yet..."

"You still haven't recognized what so-called justice is?!"

"The death penalty?!"

Hammer pointed to his own head, lecturing Smoker, the naive junior, with the air of a life coach:

"You think all the money I've saved over the years is useless? I've prepared for this situation long ago!"

"As long as the money is right, the death penalty can be commuted to a suspended sentence!"

"After I spend a few years in prison, once the heat dies down, it'll be reduced to a fixed-term imprisonment because of 'excellent performance during imprisonment'!"

"Maybe, if I'm lucky, you'll see me on the seas again in a few years!"

Smoker's face darkened instantly.

"This is so-called justice..."

Hammer laughed even more mockingly:

"Those fat, bloated senior officials sitting at their desks can casually stamp a couple of documents and swallow all the money I've worked so hard to earn over the years in one gulp!"

"Heh..."

Hammer's words tormented Smoker's ears like a demonic incantation:

"It's so easy to make money carrying the banner of 'justice'!"

Smoker gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with angry flames.

"How about it?"

Hammer wasn't afraid at all; he was enjoying the exhilarating feeling of "educating a junior":

"If you still insist on the Marines' justice, you can't kill me!"

"And if you don't kill me, I might be able to get away with it because of the Marines' justice!"

"What are you going to do?!"

Smoker trembled with anger, his brow furrowed with conflict and pain.

His thoughts were in turmoil.

Commander Hammer's words were practically a curse, one that Smoker found impossible to decipher.

And it wasn't just Smoker; even Smoker's teacher, Admiral Zephyr, couldn't escape this curse.

Hammer was about to open his mouth to say something more...

But a greatsword was suddenly placed against his neck.

"W-What do you think you're doing?"

Hammer asked Garen in surprise, "Your superior didn't kill me!"

"Huh?"

Garen quietly pressed the blade of the greatsword a little closer to Hammer's neck, then said with an innocent look:

"Don't get me wrong, I never said I was a Marine!"

Commander Hammer's face immediately turned as black as the bottom of a pot.

"Commander Hammer, what do you think of..."

As the greatsword gradually approached Hammer's neck, Garen said with malicious intent:

"'Loguetown Garrison Headquarters Engaged in Corruption, Commander Hammer Violently Resists Arrest and is Killed on the Spot.'"

"How's that for a news headline?"

Hammer's eyes immediately filled with terror and panic, and he cast a pleading look at Smoker.

Smoker didn't say a word.

After a few moments, he turned away in silence, his face gloomy.

"That's why I didn't want to be a Marine, because that way..."

Garen sighed softly and brought the sword down:

"Scum like you would survive."