Fish-Man Island.
The news that the "Marines" had attacked Ryugu Palace spread, and all of Fish-Man Island erupted into an uproar.
The group of Marines led by Smoker and Tashigi immediately came under siege from nearby Fish-Man thugs.
At first, though Smoker was grim, he was not overly worried.
Smoker was now a Marine Headquarters rear admiral and the future deputy commander of G-5 Base;
There were over two hundred men accompanying him to take up his post in the New World, all of them elite graduates of the Headquarters training camp.
And his own strength was not to be underestimated:
Spurred on by Garen's terrifying rate of growth, Smoker had not slacked off for a moment during his more than year-long posting in the East Blue. Every day, he underwent grueling training.
Smoker had now mastered Armament Haki, and his strength fully matched the rank of rear admiral on his shoulders.
A fully staffed Marine unit led by a Headquarters rear admiral could establish itself even in the New World.
And the gang thugs of the Fish-Man District?
They sounded like nothing more than a rabble, hardly worth worrying about.
But—
"So this is what you called gang thugs?"
Smoker gritted his teeth and cursed at the squid official beside him:
"What kind of gang has tens of thousands of men under it?!"
"Th-This..."
The squid official looked embarrassed.
"I really didn't know."
"You!"
Smoker's face turned livid, his gaze toward the squid official brimming with anger that had nowhere to go:
"You're an official of Ryugu Palace, aren't you?!"
"There's an armed organization this large in the Kingdom, and you people didn't even know?"
The squid official gave an awkward smile and did not dare say a word.
"Forget it, forget it."
"Don't get angry, Rear Admiral Smoker."